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CONCORD 



IN 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD 



'Being a "^imvv 



OF THE 



TOWN OF CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS 



FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE OVERTHROW OF THE 

ANDROS GOVERNMENT 



1635—1689 



By CHARLES H. WALCOTT 



WITH MAP 




BOSTON 
ESTES AND LAURIAT 

1884 

t 



Copyright, 1884, 
By Charles H. Walcott. 



®ni(jcrs(ta ^ress: 
John "Wilson and Son, Cambridge 



TO 

THE PEOPLE OF CONCORD 

W^is StxiUg of t!je Sarlg ^itnes 
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 

By the Author. 



"My desire is that no mans Spectacles may deceive him, so as to 

look upon these things either as bigger or lesser, better or worser, then 

they are; which all men generally are apt to doe at things. at so great 

distance, but that they may judge of them as indeed they are, by what 

truth they see here exprest in the things themselves." 

Thomas Shepabd. 



PREFACE. 



This volume is the result of the labor of many 
months spent in exploring the original sources of 
our town's early history, — researches made in the 
belief that a re-examination of the authorities, con- 
ducted in the modern spirit of historical inquiry, 
would develop new and interesting facts, and enable 
us to realize more fully the stern but conscientious 
self-denial, persevering industry, and sturdy good 
sense that actuated the settlers of this town. 

Constant reference has been had to Shattuck's 
History of Concord, which was published almost fifty 
years ago, and has been a valuable aid in the prose- 
cution of the studies which led to the preparation of 
this book. 

If the statements and inferences herein contained 
do not always agree with those of the earlier work, 
the reader may be assured that the difference is not 
due to neglect of the considerations which led Mr. 
Shattuck to the results stated by him, but is more 
especially to be attributed to the greater facility 



VI PREFACE. 



with which records and documents may now be i 
consulted, in consequence of the great amount of j 
money, labor, and thought, that have been devoted ! 
of late to arranging, copying, printing, and indexing ; 
early writings of a historical character ; so that the ■ 
close application and thought, once largely exhausted j 
in deciphering old records and private documents, | 
may now, in many instances, be used to extract the | 
full meaning of what is written, and to determine I 

its exact relations to information obtained from \ 

i 

other sources. { 

In almost every instance, Mr. Shattuck^s authori- \ 
ties have been consulted anew by the author of this ! 
volume ; and some additional sources of information ! 
have been drawn upon, which the elder writer seems j 
not to have discovered. ! 

Tbe extracts and ancient documents here printed '. 
have been carefully compared with the originals , 
whenever the latter could be found, but it will 
appear that, in a few instances, the author has been j 
unable to find original papers to which Mr. Shattuck \ 
undoubtedly had access. Two documents are for ! 
this reason reprinted from his history, without being , 
verified by the present author. Extracts from the j 
Records of the Colony (cited under their printed j 
title of ^^Massachusetts Records") are taken from \ 
the printed volumes. i 

X * if 

To avoid confusion, it should be borne in mind \ 
that all dates before 1752 are accordino; to the old 1 
style, which made the year begin on the 25th day | 



PREFACE. vii 



of March. The months, beginning with March, 
were alluded to, as also were the days of the week, 
by numbers, instead of by names. Thus, April 20, 
1640, would be indicated as 20'^ : 2^ : 40, or 20'^ 
2mo 2540^ Jyi writing dates occurring between 
January 1st and March 25th, sometimes the double 
date is given ; but, otherwise, it is to be understood 
that the later year, beginning in January, is re- 
tained. For instance, March 12, 169| may be 
found written, March 12, 1696 ; and 8^^ 12"}<^ 1664 
would appear as February 8, 1665. • 

Of the two oldest record books of the town, which 
together, as copied by Mr. David Pulsifer, are now 
comprised in Volume I. of the "Ancient Records of 
Concord," the earlier, — which, in all probability, 
was procured in 1653, soon after the division of the 
town into Quarters, — contains records of grants and 
divisions of land, voted by the company of the South 
Quarter. There are also brief lists, descriptive of 
the first-division lands, and, to a limited extent, 
the second-division lands, owned by dwellers in the 
South (or West) Quarter. Written at the top of a 
page is the following declaration of the purpose for 
which the book was intended : — 

"The Records of this booke of the weast qiiartter one the 
south S3'de of the mill brooke, concernes second devisions as up- 
land, second devisione meadow, & woodland, acordinge to mens 
seuerall ip-portions & alowances that is due to them, aproved 
& alowed off, by the whoUe company as is expresed in the sev- 
erall pages folio winge." 



viii PREFACE. 



This old book also contains records of ways laid i 

out in the South Quarter, rates made to defray the : 

expenses of building bridges and highways, and j 

accounts of the labor done or furnished in fur- I 

therance of these public works. The latest date j 

is 1724. I 

It cannot be doubted that there once was a town | 

book, which contained the records of the earliest ' 

grants of land, and, probably, the other proceedings \ 

of the inhabitants, meeting together in general as- j 

sembly. A book of this character is referred to in i 

ancient deeds and other documents, as well as in the ; 

records that remain to us, and is designated as " the ; 

old towne booke of Concord," or the "town's regis- ' 

ter booke." i 

This volume was extant in 1664, when it was de- I 

cided to have a new book, and to copy into it " what i 

is in the old booke, that is vesefuU." The "new i 

book" then obtained is in the office of the town '■ 

clerk, and forms the second half of the first volume j 

of '^ Ancient Records," as copied. It contains, under | 

date of " 5. of 12 : m? 1635," (February 5, 1636), the | 
entry concerning the location of the meeting-house, 

which, of course, was copied from something earlier. ! 

This book contains records of grants of lands and ' 

the laying out of ways, beginning with 1653 and ^ 

extendino; to 1804. There are, also, a few deeds, i 

leases, and agreements concerning the division or j 

fencing of lands, and a few of the East Quarter \ 

records are here preserved. \ 



PREFACE. ix 



These early books of the town's records have been 
constantly referred to and studied in the prepar- 
ation of this work. They are not expressly cited, 
except in a few instances, because it w^as thought 
better to allude generally, once for all, to an au- 
thority which, if referred to in every instance, would 
appear on almost every page of this book. 

It has been deemed wise to present the thoughts 
and acts of the men who lived in the times here 
treated of, to a considerable extent in their own lan- 
guage ; and, with this in mind, many extracts from 
original records and documents have been included, 
in the printing of which the utmost care has been 
exercised to reproduce the original as closely as pos- 
sible. These extracts should be read without resrard 
to spelling or punctuation, both of which, judged 
by our standards, are as bad as they could well be ; 
but these are only slight obstructions, after all, to 
one who carefully seeks for the meaning of what 
is written. 

The subject is in its nature local, and the larger 
history of the colony has been treated of only when 
it was found to be closely connected with that of the 
town, or when reference to it was deemed necessary 
for a more complete understanding of the position 
and relations of the town and its people to the world 
without. The author cannot flatter himself with the 
expectation that his work will be found free from 
errors, or that, in weighing men and events of two 
centuries and a half ago, his readers will always take 



PREFACE. 



the same point of view, or draw the same inferences, 
as are here presented. Earnest efforts have been 
made to present the facts accurately, to distinguish 
between knowledge and inferences, — in short, to 
present the subject in the light of truth, without 
exaggeration or suppression of any facts of public 
interest. 



Concord, April, 1884. 



LIST OF AUTHORITIES CITED. 



Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of the 
Massachusetts-Bay. 

Billerica Town Records. 

Bond's (Henr}') Genealogies and History of Watertown. 

Butler's (Caleb) History of Groton, Mass. 

Concord Town Records. 

Drake's (Samuel A.) History of Middlesex County. 

Emerson's (Ralph W.) Historical Discourse in 1835. 

Foster's (Edmund) Littleton Century Sermon. 1815. 

Gookin's (Daniel) Historical Account of the Doings and Suf- 
ferings of the Christian Indians. Reprinted in vol. ii. 423- 
534, of the Transactions and Collections of the American 
Antiquarian Society. 

Hazen's (Henry A.) History of Billerica, Mass. 

Hotten's Lists of Emigrants to America. 

Hubbard's (William) Narrative of the Indian Wars in New 
England, 1677. 

Hutchinson's (Thomas) History of Massachusetts, 1628-1750. 

Johnson's (Edward) Wonderworking Providence of Sion's 
Saviour in New England, 1654. Reprinted in the Collec- 
tions of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 2d series, ii. 
49, et seq. 

Lechford's (Thomas) Plain Dealing : or Newes from New Eng- 
land, 1642. Reprinted in the Collections of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Societ}^, 3d series, vol. iii. 

Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony in New England, The, 
1641. Reprinted in the Collections of the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, 3d series, viii. 191-237. 



Xll LIST OF AUTHORITIES CITED. 

Manuscript Records of the General Court preseived in the State 

Archives. 
Massachusetts Records. 

Mather's (Cotton) MagnaUa Christi Americana, 1702. 
Memorial Historj^ of Boston. 
Middlesex Count}^ Court, Records and Files. 
Middlesex Records of Deeds. 
Palfrey's (John G.) History of New England. 
Ripley's (Ezra) Half-century Sermon, 1828. 
Savage's (James) Genealogical Dictionary of New England. 
Gleanings for New England Histor}'. Printed in the 

Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 3d 

Series, viii. 243, et seq. 
Sewall's (Samuel) Diar3^ Printed in the Collections of the 

Massachusetts Historical Societ}", 5th series, vol. v. 
Shattuck's (Lemuel) Histor}^ of Concord, Mass., 1835. 
Shattuck's (Lemuel) Papers preserved in the Librar}^ of the 

New England Historic Genealogical Society. 
Shepard's (Thomas) Cleare Sunshine of the Gospell, 1648. 

Reprinted in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical 

Society, 3d series, v. 25-67. 
Suffolk Probate Records. 
Suffolk Records of Deeds. 
Wheeler's (Thomas) Narrative of an Expedition with Capt. 

Edward Hutchinson into the Nipmuck Countr3% and to Qua- 

baog, now Brookfield, Mass., 1675. Reprinted in New 

Hampshire Historical Collections, ii. 5. 
Winthrop's (John) History of New England from 1630 to 1649 

(Savage's ed.), 1853. 



TABLE OF OONTEE"TS. 



Page 
List of Authorities Cited xi 



CHAPTER I. 

The Planters and the Plantation. — Map of the Original 
Grant and Blood's Farms. — Purchase from the Indi- 
ans. — First Meeting-house. — The Church. — Town 
Officers. — Case of Ambrose Martin. — John Hoar and 
Philip Read 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Early Trials. — Withdrawal of Mr. Jones. — Loss of the 
Leaders. — Rev. Peter Bulkeley, Simon Willard, Thomas 
Flint.— The Kentish Influence 33 

CHAPTER III. 

The New Grant, or " Concord Village." — Blood's Farms . 49 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Second Division of Lands. — Division of the Town- 
ship into Quarters. — Roads and Bridges. — Bulkeley's 
Farm. — Flint's Farm. — Other Large Allotments. — 
Undivided Lands. — Land Transcripts. — Location of 
House-lots. — Peter Bulkele}^ Esquire. — Second Meet- 
ing-house. — Town Pound. — Mills. — Burying-Grounds 67 



I 

I 

xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS. j 



CHAPTER V. 

Page I 
Relations with the Indians. — King Philip's War. — Fight 

at Brookfield. — Nashoba Indians. — Constable John J 

I 

Heywood's Return 100 i 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Militia. — Education. — Charities. — Mining and Man- * 

ufactures. — Public Houses. — Amusements, &c. — ,■ 

Freemen. — The Andros Revolution 120 ■ 



INDEX 155. 



CONCOED 



IN 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



55^. 



l^ff Smmeits. 



sf 



A- 



Mmp of (sondofdl 



■"^^ 



JJ/'Olvrr cypres g/y^ Fj^/s^ 



^^^i^^S^^^^j^^r^sw 







CONCORD n THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. 



CHAPTER I. 

" Beneath low hills, in the brocad interval 

Through which at will our Indian rivulet 

Winds mindful still of sannup and of squaw, 

Whose pipe and arrow oft tlie plough unburies, — 

Here in pine houses built of new-fallen trees, 

Supplanters of the tribe, the farmers dwell.'' 

Emerson. 

The Planters and the Plantation. — Map of the Original 
Grant and Blood's Farms. — Purchase from the Indi- 
ans. — First Meeting-house. — The Church. — Case of 
Ambrose Martin. 

The plantation at Musketaquid was settled by Eev. 
Peter Bulkeley, of Odell in England, associated with 
Simon Willard, a merchant^ of Horsmonden, who 
brought with them about twelve families. 

Mr. Bulkelej, then fifty-two years of age^ em- 
barked at London, May 9, 1635, in the ship " Susan 
and Ellen/' accompanied by William Buttrick and 
Thomas Brooke. Mrs. Bulkeley sailed two days 
before, in the "Elizabeth and Ann," under the escort 
of Thomas Dane ; ^ from which it may be inferred that 

1 Savage's " Gleanings; " Hotten, pp. 76, 77. 
1 



2 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



by the temporary separation of husband and wife, 
the orders prohibiting the departure of clergymen 
and " subsidy men " were more easily evaded.^ 

James Hosmer was provided with a certificate 
from the minister of Hawkhurst, in Kent, and the 
attestation of two justices of the peace that he 
and his fxmily were '^ conformable to the Church of 
England," and were " no subsidy men." ^ Both Mr. 
Bulkeley and Thomas Flint had sufficient property 
to bring them within the degree of " subsidy men," 
and therefore it may be supposed that their depart- 
ure was achieved by obtaining a special license, or 
through the connivance of the authorities ; but the 
rest of the Concord company were plain people, of 
humble station in England, and of small means, ! 
who hoped in the New World to better their con- i 
dition, and to enjoy unmolested the simpler forms of | 
religious worship that their tastes and consciences \ 
approved. i 

There was, however, no transplanting of a church . 
and its pastor, — like the removal of John Robinson i 
and his flock to Holland, or like the settlements at i 
Plymouth and Dorchester. Few, and possibly none, | 
of Mr. Bulkeley' s parishioners, except his own family, ; 

1 The order of the Lords Commissioners for the Colonies, passed ■ 
in December, 1634, forbade the emigration of all persons of the degree j 
of a "subsidy man" without a special license, and of all persons ^ 
beneath that degree without evidence of their having taken the oaths ] 
of supremacy and allegiance, and of their conformity to the orders of i 
discipline of the Church of England. Palfrey, i. 396. | 

2 Hotten, p. 53. | 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 3 

followed him across the sea ; and there is no reason 
to suppose that the Concord settlers ever came to- 
gether on English soil. The chm^ch was not gathered 
mi til the summer following the actual settlement 
of the town, nor was its organization completed 
until the ordination of the elders in the spring of 
1637. The homes of the pioneers were, moreover, 
widely separated. Mr. Bulkeley lived in Bedford- 
shire • Simon Willard, James Hosmer, and probably 
William Buss and Thomas Dane, were from Kent ; 
John Heald came from Berwick in Northumber- 
land ; William Hunt and Jonathan Mitchell had 
their homes in Yorkshire ; William Buttrick came 
from Kingston-on-Thames, in Surrey; Derbyshire 
was represented by Thomas Flint, and probably 
William Wood. It is not unlikely that other parts 
of England supplied their contingents to the little 
band who, after many struggles and with .the aid of 
a compass, succeeded in pushing through the wilder- 
ness that then bounded Watertown on the northwest, 
and arrived at their new home in the fall of 1635. 

The following extracts from Johnson's work, writ- 
ten ten or fifteen years later, are interesting, although 
coming from a writer whose imagination sometimes 
lends too strong a coloring to his facts : — 

" Upon some inquiiy of the Indians, who lived to the North 
West of the Bay, one Captaine Simon Willard, being acquainted 
with them by reason of his trade, became a chiefe instrument 
in erecting this towne. The land they purchase of the Indians ; 
and with much difficulties travelling through nnknowne woods, 
and through watery swamps, they discover the fitnesse of the 



4 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

place, — sometimes passing through tlie thickets, where their 
hands are forced to make way for their bodies passage, and 
their feete clambering over the crossed trees, which when they 
missed the}' sunke into an uncertaine bottome in water, and wade 
up to their knees, tumbling sometimes higher and sometimes 
lower. Wearied with this toile, they at end of this meete with a 
scorching plaine ; 3'et not so plaine but that the ragged bushes 
scratch their legs foul}', even to wearing their stockings to their 
bare skin in two or three hours. If they be not otherwise well 
defended with bootes or buskings, their flesh will be torne, that 
some being forced to passe on without further provision, have 
had the bloud trickle downe at ever\^ step ; and in time of sum- 
mer the sun casts such a reflecting heate from the sweet feme, 
whose scent is ver}^ strong, so that some herewith have beene 
very nere fainting, although very able bodies to undergoe much 
travell, and this not to be indured for one day, but for many ; 
and verily did not the Lord incourage their natural parts (with 
hopes of a new and strange discovery, expecting every houre to 
see some rare sight never seen before), they were never able 
to hold out and breake through. . . . 

" Their further hardship is to travell sometimes they know not 
whether, bewildred indeed without sight of sun ; their compasse 
miscanying in crowding through the bushes, they sadly search 
up and down for a known way, the Indian paths being not above 
one foot broad, so that a man may travell many daj'es and never 
find one. . . . 

*' This intricate worke no whit daunted these resolved servants 
of Christ to go on with the worke in hand ; but lying in the open 
aire, while the watery clouds poure down all the night season, 
and sometimes the driving snow dissolving on their backs, they 
keep their wet cloathes warme with a continued fire, till the 
renewed morning give fresh opportunity of further travell." 

Their destination was the " six miles of land 
square " granted them by the General Court, and 
to be laid out at the place called by the Indians 



COXCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 5 

" Musketaquid," but thenceforth to be known as 
Concord. On Sept. 2, 1635, the General Court passed 
the following order.^ 

"It is ordered, that there shalbe a plantacon att Muskete- 
quid, & that there shalbe 6 myles of land square to belong to it, 
& that the inhabitants thereof shall have three yeares iihunities 
from all publ[ic] charges, except traineings ; Further, that when 
any that plant there shall have occaeon of carr3'eing of goods 
thither, they shall repaire to two of the nexte magistrates where 
the teames are, whoe shall have power for a yeare to presse 
draughts, att reasonable rates, to be paj-de by the owners of the 
goods, to transport their goods thither att seasonable tj'mes ; 
& the name of the place is changed, & here after to be called 
Concord." ^ 

There is no plan of the original grant, if, indeed, 
such a plan was ever made ; nor is there any return 
of the laying out of the land, such as was usually 
prepared and filed. We do, however, know that it 
was in fact laid out, and bounds set at the corners, 
and without doubt this work was done by Simon 
Willard. 

The author is not aware that any one has before 
attempted to construct a map of Concord as it was 
in the beginning. The map published with this work 
is the result of a comparison of maps, plans, and old 
records, supplemented by observations made on the 

^ Mass. Records, i. 157. 

2 In March following it was further " agreed, that the imunitie of 
Concord for three yeares shall begin the first of October nexte, & 
that none shall have benefitt thereof but those that lyve there, & 
with respect onely to the stocke they have there." Mass. Records, i, 
167. The order authorizing the impressment of carts was renewed 
Oct. 28, 1636, for a year longer. — Ibid., 182. 



6 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. | 

ground. It has been carefully drawn, under the 
author's direction, by Mr. William Wheeler of Con- [ 
cord, whose assistance has been invaluable in the I 
application of tests which lie peculiarly within the 
province of a skilful surveyor and draughtsman. 

Briefly, the sources of information which assist us 
in constructing a map like this are the following : — 

Two plans by Jonathan Danforth, dated, respect- 
ively, 1660 ^ and 1706,^ show Billerica land on both 
sides of the Concord River, and are valuable for our 
purpose as showing the south line of Billerica, which 
was identical with the north line of Concord, except 
where they bounded on Blood's Farms. 

A plan of Bedford made in 1760 and in the li- 
brary of the Massachusetts Historical Society shows 
the Billerica line east of the river. 

Among the Shattuck papers is a somewhat dilap- 
idated plan of Concord Village, which, possibly, is 
the plan alluded to by Mr. Shattuck ^ as having been 
made by Captain Stephen Hosmer in 1730. This 
gives us the western boundary of the original grant, 
throughout its entire length. 

In the State archives is a collection of plans of 
the several towns in the Commonwealth made in 
response to a resolve of the General Court passed in 
1794, and another more elaborate set made under 
similar authority in 1830. Concord in 1795 is shown 

1 In the library of the Mass. Historical Society. 

2 Mass. Archives, Ancient Plans, v. i. p. 191. 

3 History, p. 280. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 7 

by a plan drawn from actual surveys by Ephraim 
Wood. The town lines were then the same as at 
present. The survey of 1830 was made by John G. 
Hales, and resulted m a well-drawn map, copies of 
wdiich were sold with Shattuck'k History of Concord, 
published five years afterwards. H. F. Walling's 
map of the town was made in 1852, and his map of 
Middlesex County in 1856. 

The lines, courses, distances, and angles shown by 
this multitude of maps and plans have been care- 
fully studied and compared in the preparation of the 
map here presented. 

The original grant was laid out in the form of a 
square. Right angles and straight lines were pre- 
ferred by the early settlers whenever they could be 
had. No other grants had been made near this place ; 
consequently it was not deemed necessary to notify 
any adjoining owner of the running of the line, and 
the simplest possible form was adopted. 

The original grant may be bounded as follows : 
Beginning at the southwest corner at a stone post 
which marks the present southwest corner of the 
town, the line runs north 40° east (approximate 
needle course) on the Acton line to a stone at the 
present northv/est corner of Concord, near the Dudley 
place. When Acton was made a town, the statute ^ 
bounded it on the east bv " Concord old bounds : " 
from which it appears that Acton includes no part of 
the original Concord, and that the dividing line be- 

■ 1 July 3, 1735. See Prov. Laws, ii. 763. 



8 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. < 

tween the two towns is a portion of the old Concord I 
line on that side. The Acton boundary extended '■ 
leads to a heap of lichen-covered boulders surmounted ■ 
by a stake. This ancient monument is near the top \ 
of a hill in the southwesterly part of Carlisle, and I 
undoubtedly marks the old northwest corner of our I 
town. It was identified and pointed out to the wri- i 
ter on the ground by Major B. F. Heald, of Carlisle, \ 
who says that he has often heard his father and ' 
other ancient men, long since deceased, speak of | 
this bound as marking the old Concord corner ; and | 
" everything goes to corroborate this testimony. The ' 
place was commonly known by the name of " Berry 
Corner," and was the original northeast corner of ; 
Acton; but, in 1780,^ a portion of that town near i 
this point was included in what was then constituted j 
as the District of Carlisle, and subsequently formed i 
a part of the town of the same name.^ : 

Making a right angle at this corner the line runs j 
southeasterly through the lower part of Carlisle, j 
coinciding in two places with our present boundary, \ 
and, crossing the river, runs about a quarter of a mile | 
to the southward of the main street of Bedford and 
parallel with it, to a point on the upland about forty j 
rods east of the Shawshine River. Ancient stone ' 
walls preserve this line in part. The bound at the | 
northeast corner must have been removed at some r 

1 statute passed April 28, 1780. ^ 

2 Carlisle did not acquire all the legal characteristics of a town .j 
until February 18, 1805. 3 Special Laws, 497. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 9 

time after Bedford was incorporated ; and, as it stood 
in cultivated land, near a house, the farmer would 
not be likely to value it so highly as we should, had 
he allowed it to remain. The corner can be located 
with sufficient accuracy however, by the intersection 
of the north line, just described, with the line on the 
east; and it appears from the Billerica records of 
1700 that the corner was then marked by a stake 
and stones.^ 

1 The following is taken from the town records of Billerica, where 
it appears under the date of Feb. 11, 1699-1700. " by agreement 
betwene the Town of Concord & Billerika the bounds betwene these 
Towns were renued & whereas severall of the old bounds were rot- 
ten and lost they now agreed to make new bounds instead thereof or 
instead of them. We began at Concord South east Corner, which 
was a stake & stones about it standing on the South east of Shaw- 
shin River about fourty poles from it & kept the old bound trees 
untill we came at the great Cedar Swamp, & through the sd swamp 
(all though the trees in it were marked sum what Crooked) yet we 
renued the old marks, untill we came within six score pole of Concord 
River unto a great white oake very often & old marked and betwene 
this white oake & the River there being no more bounds to be found, 
we agreed to Run from this white oak unto sd River upon a point 
Running North fivety & three degrees west & marked the bounds suf- 
ficiently which line did cut cross Abraham Tailors a little before we 
came at the River this is a tru draft of what is concluded relating 
unto the premises as attest 

"Jonathan Danforth 

" Surveie?'.^' 

This renewal of the bounds was assented to by Joseph French, 
Samuel Davis, Jr., and Thomas Brown, the Concord committee, and 
by Davis, French, and Abraham Taylor, as proprietors of lands adja- 
cent to the line. As reasons for doing the work at this time it was 
urged that the season was favorable, " because of passing the swamps 
upon the yice & it had not bene thoroughly don for sum years." 

This agreement, with some verbal discrepancies, which do not alter 
the sense, is recorded at the end of the second volume of the Concord 



10 co:jtcord in the colonial period. 

Returning to the southwest corner, we run south- 
easterly on the present Sudbury line to the river, 
and thence in the same course, on the Wayland 
line, to the corner at Lincoln ; then striking across 
the lower corner of Lincoln and keeping in the same 
straight line, we come to a heap of stones situated 
near a brook, and in a line with that part of the 
boundary between Lincoln and Weston which ex- 
tends southwesterly from the great road at G. F. 
Harrington's house. Turning and making a right 
angle at this corner, we proceed towards the north- 
east, on old stone walls, just touching the eastern 
edge of Beaver Pond and including a portion of 
the boundary between Bedford and Lexington,^ 
thus meeting our north line and completing the 
square. 

The reader will naturally expect to find the sides 
of the square measuring just six miles each, but 

records, but, as some words are worn off at the edges of the leaves, it 
was thought best to follow the records of Billerica. 

1 The southerly bounds of Bedford ran eastward by a crooked 
line "to Lexington bounds, and keeping Lexington line to Billerica 
line, to a stake and heap of stones, heing the nortlieasterly corner of 
Concord; from thence continuing on Lexington line to a stake and 
heap of stones called Woburn Corner, &c." St. 1729; Prov. Laws, 
ii. 527. 

The bounds by which Lincoln was set off in 1754, ran northward 
from the Boston road "to Bedford line; and by Bedford line to 
Concord Corner, adjoining to Lexington, &c." The "Corner" here 
referred to was, of course, the new corner made when Bedford was set 
off, as distinguished from the old Shawshin Corner mentioned above ; 
and the statute above cited, taken with the statute defining the Bedford 
bounds, establishes beyond a doubt that the present northeast corner 
of Lincoln was in the old Concord line. 



CONCORD IX THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 11 

they are found, in fact, to measure almost exactly 
six and two-thirds miles. On Hosmer's plan, before 
referred to, the length of the western boundary is 
given as six miles and one hundred and forty-two 
rods. In the j)resent state of our information the 
length of these lines cannot be stated with exact- 
ness, because of difference in the results shown by 
recorded surveys. The discrepancies, however, do 
not affect the conclusions already reached by us, and 
are not so surprising when the length of the lines is 
considered, the nature of the ground to be traversed, 
and the fact that no such accuracy was needed or 
desired as would be considered necessary in the 
measurement of smaller tracts bounded by shorter 
lines. The writer is informed that, in locating land 
grants in Pennsylvania, it has been customary to add 
ten per cent as an allowance for poor land ; and it 
appears from papers in our own State archives that, 
in locating other grants in Massachusetts in the early 
times, it was permissible to add something to the 
amount granted, '^ for rocks and waste land." More- 
over, it is w^ell known that the early grants as laid 
out almost always exceeded the amount named in 
the grant. Some of the excess in our case may 
have been allowed for public roads, and part, no 
doubt, was for slack in the chain. 

Annexed to every grant of land by the General 
Court was the condition, either expressed or im- 
plied, that no prior grants should be interfered with. 
Probably the thought never entered Willard's mind 



12 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 1 

I 

I 

that this restriction would cause any difficulty in ' 
fixing the bounds of his rectangular township in | 
the wild woods of Musketaquid ; for Concord was I 
the first settlement above tide-water, and when he ■ 
had set his bounds, he believed them to be sur- : 
rounded on every hand by unappropriated wilder- ' 
ness. It was claimed, however, by the Watertown , 
men that the lines of their grant, running eight j 
miles into the country, converged to a point north ■ 
of Walden Pond, thus seriously marring the math- 
ematical simplicity of Willard's plan. An appeal to 
the Court resulted in an order, August 20, 1638, ; 
that Watertown lines should extend so far only '' as 
Concord bounds give leave." ' 

The tract of wilderness land thus enclosed was oc- 
cupied, in a sense, by two or three hundred Indians, 
who eked out a miserable existence by hunting and ; 
fishing, with the help of such planting and reaping \ 
as was compatible w^ith their slothful ignorance and i 
imperfect tools fashioned of wood and stone, clam ' 
shells and bones of animals. 

As early as 1636, at the house of Rev. Mr. Bulkeley, 
a treaty was made with the Indians, by the terms of l 
which the entire tract, six miles square, was ceded to 
the English " undertakers." The following deposi- , 
tions taken in 1684, are interesting evidence of this ; 
interview. They are recorded in the town records, 
as well as with Middlesex Deeds, but where the | 
copies differ, those in the county records are pre- : 
ferred as having been made from the originals. \ 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 13 

*'The Testimony of Richard Rice aged seventy-two years 
Sheweth that about the yeare one thousand six hundred Thirty 
six there was an Agreement made by some undertakers for the 
Towne since called Concord ^ with some Indians that had right unto 
the land then purchased for the Township The Indians names 
was Squaw Sachem, Tohuttawun Sagamore, Muttunkatucka, and 
some other Indians y^ lived then at that place, The Tract of 
land being six miles square. The center of the place being about 
the place the meeting house standeth now, The bargaine was 
made & confirmed between y® English undertakers & the Indi- 
ans then present, to their good sattisfaction on all hands. 
" 7 . 8 . 84. Sworne in Court 

' ' Tho Danforth Record'^ " 
[Middlesex Deeds, Lib. 9, fol. 105.] 

''The Testimony of William Buttrick aged sixty-eight years 
or thereabouts Sheweth, That about the yeare one thousand 
six hundred thirty & six, there was an Agreement made by 
some undertakers for the Towne since called Concord with 
some Indians that had right unto the land then purchased 
of them for the Towneship ; the Indians names was Squaw 
Sachem Tohuttawun Sagamore & Nuttankatucka & some 
other Indians that lived and was then present at that place & 
at that time. The Tract of land being six miles square, The 
center being about y^ place the meeting house now standeth on. 
The bargaine was made & confirmed between the English under- 
takers & the Indians then present & concernd, to theyr good 
sattisfaction on all hands 

'' 7, 8, 84. Sworne in Court 

"Tho: Danforth. R." 
[Middlesex Deeds, Lib. 9, fol. 105.] 

"The Deposition Jehojakin ahas Mantatucket a christian 
Indian of Natick aged. 70 years or thereabouts, 

^ This expression, which also appears in Buttrick's testimony, taken 
alone might convey the impression that the name Concord was applied 
subsequently to 1636 ; but the order of the court authorizing the plan- 
tation afiixes the name. Ante, p. 5. 



14 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

" This Deponent testifj^eth & sayth, that about 50 j^ears since 
he Uved within the bounds of that place which is now called 
Concord at the foot of an hill named Nawshawtick now in the 
possession of M"^ Ilenery Woodis & that he was p^sent at a 
bargaine made at the house of Mr Peter Bulkly (now Capt 
Timothy Wheeler's) between M^" Simon Willard M^ John Jones, i 
]VP" Spencer & severall others in behalfe of the Englishmen who ' 
were setling upon the s^ Towne of Concord & Squaw Sachem, | 
Tahuttawun & Nimrod Indians which s^ Indians (according to ; 
y^ particular Rights & Interests) then sold a Tract of land - 
contej'ning six mile square (the s<i house being accounted | 
about the center) to the s*^ Engiish for a place to settle a Towne ■ 
in. And he the s^ Deponent saw s^ Willard & Spencer pay a | 



parcell of v/ompompeag, Hatchets, Hows, Knives, Cotton Cloath 



& Shirts to the s'l Indians for the s^ Tract of land : And in j 
p^ticular he the s^ Deponent perfectly remembreth that Wom- \ 
pachowet Husband to Squaw-Sachem received a Suit of cotton 
cloath, an Hatt, a white linnen band, shoes, stockins & a great , 
coat upon account of s^ bargaine And in the conclusion the 
s^^ Indians declard themselvs sattisf^-ed & told- the Englishmen 
they were Welcome. There were also present at the s'l Bargain 
W^aban, Merch^ Thomas his brother in law Nowtoquatuckquaw 
an Indian, Aantonuish now called Jethro 
" taken upon oath. 20tii of October 1684 
"Before Daniel Gookin Sen^. Asisis* 

" Tho ; Danforth. Dep*. GovV 
[Middlesex Deeds, Lib. 9, fol. 100.] 

' ' The Deposition of Jethro a Christian Indian of Natick 
aged 70 j-ears or therabouts 

"this Deponent testifyeth & sayth. That about 50 3'ears 
since he dwelt at Nashobah, near unto the place now named b}^ 
the English Concord & that coming to s^ Concord was p^'sent 
at the making a bargaine (which was done at the house of M'^ 
Peter Bulkly w° now Cap*. Timothy Wheeler liveth in) between 
severall Englishmen (in behalfe of such as were setling s^^ place) 
viz : M"" Simon Willard, M"^ John Jones, M"" Spencer & others 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 15 



on the one party And Squaw Sachem, Tohattowan & Nimrod 
Indians on the other part3' : And that the s<i Indians according 
to 3'^ severall rights) did then sell unto the s^ Englishmen a 
certeyn Tract of land contej^ning six miles square (the s^^ house 
being accounted about y® center) to plant a Town in. And 
that he the s^ Deponent did see the s^ Willard & Spencer ^paj^ to 
the s^ Indians for the s^ Tract of land a parcell of Wompom- 
peag, Hatchetts, Hows, Knives Cotton Cloath & shirts & that 
Wappacowet Husband to Squaw Sachem had of the s^ English 
upon the Account of the s^ bargain, a new suit of cotton cloath, 
a linnen band, a hat, shoes, stockins and a great Coat, & y* 
after the s^ Bargaine was concluded M^^ Simon Willard, poynt- 
ing to the four quarters of the world declared that they had 
bought three miles from that place east west, north & south 
& the s<i Indians manifested their free consent thereunto, there 
were p^'ent at the making of the s<^^ Bargaine amongst other 
Indians, Waban, Merch*, Thomas, his Brother in law Notaw- 
quatuckquaw & Jehojakin who is j'et living & dposeth in like 
manner as above. 

" 7 . 8 . 84 Sworne in Court b}^ Jethro. 

"Attests Tho: Danforth. R." 
[Middlesex Deeds, Lib. 9, fol. 106.] 

Judged from our point of view, the price was 
insignificant, but the Indians seem to have been sat- 
isfied, and it is probable that the main purpose and 

1 William Spencer, who was present when the bargain was made 
with the Indians, and received grants of land in this neighborhood, 
was a prominent citizen of Cambridge and a magistrate. The name 
of Spencer Brook is a pleasant reminder of one whose interest in 
Concord was contemporary with the birth of the town. 

In 1654, Samuel Adams, of Charlestown, conveyed to Richard 
Temple, of the same town, *' the land in Concord that was sometimes 
Mr W^ Spencer's" (Middlesex Deeds, L. 1, f. 129); but there is no 
reason to suppose that Mr. Spencer was ever a resident here. The 
land was a larg-e tract on both sides of the road, at Angler's Mills. 



16 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

value of the treaty of purchase consisted in the 
establishment of friendly relations with the occu- 
pants of the soil. The colonists preferred the deri- 
vation of their title through the royal charter and 
the grant of the General Court, but were not averse 
to strengthening their position by any suitable means 
that were ofered. 

We find that, May 17, 1637,— 

" Concord had leave graunted them to purchase the ground 
Tv^^in their lunits of the Indeans, to wit, Atawans & Squa 
Sachim." ^ 

The following record appears under date of August 

1,1637: — 

" Webb Cowet, Squaw Sachem, Tahatawants, Natan quaticke 
alias Oldmans, Caato, alias Goodmans ^ did expresse their con- 
sent to the sale of the weire at Concord over against the towne 
& all the planting ground w^^ hath bene formerh' planted b}^ the 
Indians, to the inhabitants of Concord, of w^^ there was a write- 
ing, w^^ their marks subscribed given into the Court, expressing 
the price given." ^ 

Whether the transaction of which this record and 
" writeing " were the evidence related to the orig- 
inal grant and the agreement entered into in Mr. 
Bulkeley's house, or to something not included in 
those negotiations, is not clear. 

It is a curious fact that Jethro and Jehoiakin say 

1 Mass. Records, i. 196. 

2 Sudbury (five miles square) was bought of this "Caato, alias 
Goodmans." He had a wigwam on a hill near the centre of Sudbury, 
still known as Goodman's Hill. Drake's Middlesex, ii. 358. 

3 Mass. Records, i. 196. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 17 

that Mr. Bulkeley's house was " accounted about the 
center/' while Buttrick and Rice fix the central point 
at '' about the place the meeting house standeth 
now." ^ This discrepancy seems to indicate that 
the township was not laid out with reference to any 
object as the exact centre, but with a view solely to 
practical advantages and resources. Willard, who 
had previously traded with the Indians in this neigh- 
borhood, knew what the country was, and so laid out 
his bounds as to include six valuable mill sites, seven 
natural ponds, more than nine miles of river, and a 
large number of smaller streams. The meadows 
traversed by the sluggish rivers that ran by devious 
windings to the northward, were bordered by tracts 
of upland that had been burned over and brought 
under rude cultivation by the natives, and afforded 
a large area of cleared land that was very attrac- 
tive to the English settlers. The woodland was for 
the most part covered with pine. Shad, salmon, and 
alewives abounded in the rivers and brooks, which 
were also the haunts of fur-bearing animals. Willard 
was specially interested in the fur trade, and it is 
likely that this tract, so abundantly supplied with 
ponds and water courses, was selected and laid out 
with particular regard to the prosecution of that 
business.^ 

1 Ante, pp. 13, 14. 

2 In 1641 a company was formed, with Simon Willard at the head 
of it, and endowed with a monopoly of the trade with the Indians, of 
which the traffic in beaver skins formed a very considerable part. 
Mass. Records, "i. 322, 323. 

2 



18 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. \ 

■ \ 

The first dwelling-places were under the ridge of • 
land that extends in an easterly direction from the I 
Town House, and was known in early days as " the ; 
hills." Immediately upon the arrival of the first j 

settlers, according to Johnson, 

i 
' ' they burrow themselves in the earth for their first shelter ; 

under some hill-side, casting the earth aloft upon timber, they \ 

make a smoaky fire against the earth at the highest side. . . . , 

In these poor wigwams they sing psalmes, pray and praise their i 

God, till the}' can provide them houses, which ordinarily was i 

not wont to be with many till the earth, by the Lord's blessing, ' 

brought forth bread to feed them, their wives and little ones, ; 

which with sore labours they attain." ) 

As soon as the most pressing needs of the situation ; 
were met, allotments of land were made to the mem- I 
hers of the company, and house-lots were laid out ! 
with some regularity on both sides of the Mill Brook, \ 
eastward as far as the Kettle place lately owned by i 
Mr. Staples, and on Walden Street to the Almshouse ; I 
in a westerly direction as far as the Damon place ; \ 
and to the Old Manse and the Edmund Hosmer place ' 
on the north. Besides his house-lot, each one re- i 
ceived his due proportion of planting-ground and 
meadow lying in the near vicinity. This was the 
first division of lands, the price paid into the common 
stock being a shilling per acre, or, in some special 
cases, a sixpence per acre. The land thus divided ! 
constituted a small part only of the whole grant, and , 
the remainder was held in common and undivided, 
subject to such regulations as the inhabitants thought 
fit to establish, until the second division in 1653, ^ 



CONCORD IX THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 19 

by which, substantially, the whole remaining por- 
tion of the original grant was disposed of. 

The civil affairs of ^Hhe company of the whole 
town" were managed by selectmen or '^ townsmen," 
who received formal instructions for their guidance 
from a committee chosen in town-meeting for that 
purpose. The instructions of 1672 are preserved in 
the town records.^ The constable was an important 

^ " Instructiones given to the Selectmen of Concord for the year, 
1672. 

1 To see that the ministers Rates be discharged acording to time 

2 To acsamen whether the meting house, be finised acording to agree- 

ment, & if not, that it may be; but if the agreement be fulfiled, 
then to take cear that somthing be done to keep the water out, 
and that the pulpet be altred 

3 That ceare be taken of the bookes of marters & other bookes, that 

belong to the Towne, that they be kept from abeuce uesage, & 
not to be lent to any person more then one month at one time, 

4 That spedykere be taken to mend or demales, the foote bridg over 

the north Riv^ at the Iron AVorks ; 

5 To treat with Capt. Thomas Wheler about his leese of the Townes 

farme & if it may be upon Resonable termes to alter that per- 
ticuler wherein the Towne is Jn Jnioyned to send such a nomber 
cattle yearly to be herded by him ; 

6 To let out the land & housing where now John Law dweles; for 

the benifet of the towne, 

7 To take order that all Corne filds be sufficently fenced in seson, the 

Crane fild & bricke keld field especially; 

8 And that incorigment be given for the destroing of blackeburds & 

Jaies ; 

9 That spesiall cear be taken to preuent damiag by swine in corne 

fieldes & medows 

10 That shepe & lames be keept from doing damiag in cornefields; 

11 To make a Record of all the habitationes, that are priviledged with 

liberty at Comones ; 

12 To take account of the laste yeares selectmen for what is don, 

[due?] to the Towne by Reent by John Law, or by givft by 



20 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

personage elected by the town, but sworn in by the 
officers of the colonial government.^ The selectmen 
were the agents and representatives of the town for 
almost every purpose, except appearing at the an- 
nual Court of Election, to which the town sent tv/o 
deputies, who, under the colonial regime, were not 
required to be inhabitants of the town.^ 

It seems that in the older towns on the sea-coast, 
the selectmen w^ere at first invested with limited 
judicial powers ; ^ but, as early as 1638, it was ordered 
that commissioners '' for ending of small matters,'' 
should be appointed for each town by the County 
Court, with jurisdiction of cases in which the debt or 
damage did not exceed twenty shillings."^ 

In 1639 the towns were ordered to keep records 

Joseph Meriam; or otherwise of wright dew to the Towne, not 
to Restraine the selectmen from lenity towards John Law; 

13 To see that menes lands both Improved & unimproved be truly 

broth, [brought in] 

14 To take care that vndesiarable persones be not entertained ; so as to 

become inhabitants 

15 To take cere that ^sones doe not ouer Charg ther Comones with 

Cattle, 

16 That all Fsones that have taken the oath of fidellity be Recorded, 

17 That cere be taken that Cattle be herded, as much as may be, with 

convenence 
These perticolers were agreed upon by vs whose names are vnder- 
writen nehamia. hunt; John fflint; John miles; Wiit 

dated 4: 1. mo. -l|^-l heartwell; Tho: Wheler Joshuah brooke 
Joseph; heaward; Gershom. Brooke, Humpry barit John Billings" 

1 Mass. Records, i. 248. 

2 This was changed in 1693, the representative from Concord voting 
against the change. 

3 Hutchinson, i. 398. 

4 Mass. Records, i. 239. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 21 

of births^ marriages, and deaths occurring within 
their respective limits. The officer to whom this 
duty fell was called " clerk of the writs/' and later, 
" town clerk." 

For the greater security of new settlements/ the 
law prohibited the building of dwelling-houses (ex- 
cept mill-houses and farm-houses of such as had 
their dwelling-houses in some town) more than half 
a mile from the meeting-house, unless by the consent 
of the court.^ This order was at first observed, but 
as the town increased in population, new houses were 
built on the more remote lands without regard to 
the prohibition. 

The first houses were humble structures, with 
thatched roofs, and, very likely, wooden chimneys. 
Oiled paper served in place of window glass. Hastily 
constructed of perishable materials, not one of these 
buildings remains. They were replaced before the 
lapse of many years by houses of a more substan- 
tial character, generally facing the south, with shin- 
gled roofs running almost to the ground on the 
back, brick chimneys, and a j^rojecting second story. 
Some of the second set of houses were dignified 
with the name of " mansion," but none has survived 
to furnish us with a specimen of the architecture 
favored by the second generation. 

By its first recorded vote the town decided, Feb. 
5, 1636, that the meeting-house — temple of church 
and state — should " stand on the hill neare the 

^ Mass. Records, i. 157. 



22 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

brooke on the east side of goodman Judsons lott." ^ 

Nothing in the town or county records affords any \ 

•I 
light on the location of this lot, but the testimony j 

afforded by tradition has pointed with little vari- | 

ation to the top of the hill in or near the old burying i 

ground, as the site of the -first meeting-house. The i 

meeting-house at Dedham, built about the same time, * 

was thirty-six feet long, twenty feet wide, and twelve ^ 

feet high '^ in the stud." It was thatched with long j 

grass, and was probably not unlike the house built 

by our ancestors. Long before the second building j 

was erected on the Common (substantially where the < 

Meeting-house of the First Parish now stands), there ] 

was a lot of land in the east part of the town known i 

as '' the meeting-house frame ; " and, unless this odd | 

name can be accounted for in some better way, it j 

may be thought to indicate the land which supplied 1 

the timber for the first place of public worship.^ i 

The Church of Concord was formally gathered at | 

Cambridge, July 5, 1636, being, in point of time, i 

the thirteenth church organized in the colony; and ,! 

* William Judson came to America in 1634, and settled in Concord ! 
the following year with his wife, Grace, and sons, "Joseph, Jeremiah, 

and Joshua. All removed in 1639 to Hartford, but were residents of | 

Stratford in 1644, where the sous remained; but the father and i 

mother went to New Haven, where she died Sept. 29, 1659. Savage's ! 

Genealogical Dictionary. I 

2 This lot is referred to in the town records of lands in 1666, as "the i 

place caled the meting house frame." June 20, 1694, Francis Fletcher i 
conveys to his son Joseph inter alia, ten acres in the easterly part of 

the town, called " ye Meeting House fframe, upon which the old Saw i 

mill stands." Middlesex Deeds, L. 13, f. 409. ! 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 23 

the organization was completed April 6, 1637, when 
Rev. Peter Bulkeley was chosen teacher, and Rev. 
John Jones, pastor.^ The latter, a graduate of Oxford 
University, arrived in October, 1635,^ and joined the 
Concord company. There was, at this time, a dis- 
tinction between the office and duties of teacher and 
those of pastor, but none of the authorities state the 
difference clearly. The terms soon became convert- 
ible, and the functions of both offices were discharged 
by one person. 

Governor Vane and Deputy-Governor Winthrop 
were invited to be present at the gathering of the 
church, but, on account of a real or fancied breach 
of etiquette, failed to attend.^ Fine-spun theories 
about " legal preachers " and the effect of ordination 
by the bishop in England kept from the ceremonies 
of ordination the governor, and Rev. John Cotton, 
Mr. Wheelwright, " and the two ruling elders of 
Boston, and the rest of that church which were of any 
note did none of them come to this meeting." ^ This 
matter is worth mentioning only as showing that 
the Concord ministers received no encouragement 

1 Winthrop, i. 114, 225, 259. 

2 'Winthrop, i. 202. 

2 " Mr Buckly and Mr. Jones, two English ministers, appointed this 
day to gather a church at Newtown, to settle at Concord. They sent 
word, three days before, to the governour and deputy, to desire their 
presence ; but they took it in ill part, and thought not fit to go 
because they had not come to them before, (as they ought to have done, 
and as others had done before) to acquaint them with their purpose." 
Winthrop, i. 225. 

* Winthrop, i. 260. 



24 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

at the beginning of their undertaking from those of 
whom they would have been most likely to expect 
it, and from whom a word of cheer would have been 
most welcome. However, it mattered little, for they 
had fixed their habitations in the wilds and must, 
sooner or later, content themselves with their own 
resources. After the departure of Mr. Jones, in 
1644, Mr. Bulkeley was sole pastor, at a salary of 
£70,^ until his death in 1659. Lechford speaks of 
the " catechizing of children " and others, as a prac- 
tice peculiar to the Concord Church ; and Mather 
says of the pastor,^ " he was very laborious, and be- 
cause he was, through some infirmities of body, not 
so able to visit his flock, and instruct them from 
house to house, he added unto his other publick 
labours, on the Lord's days, that of constant cat- 
echizing ; wherein, after all the unmarried people 
had answered, all the people of the whole assembly 
were edified, by his expositions and applications." 

Edward Bulkeley, who had been for some years 
minister at Marshfield, succeeded his father, with a 
salary of £80 ; but as he was no longer young, and 
was affile ted with lameness, it was soon deemed 
expedient to procure the services of a colleague, 
and accordingly in 1667, Rev. Joseph Estabrook, 
born in Enfield, England, and educated at Harvard 
College, was engaged at a salary equal to Mr. Bulke- 
ley's, to be paid half in money and half in produce.^ 
The town voted, February 3, 1680, — 

1 Shattuck, 152. 2 Magnalia, iii. c. 10. » Shattuck, 161. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 25 

" That every house holder that hath a teame greate[r] or 
lesser shall accordingly cary yearly one loade of wood to the 
ministe[r] and every other house holder or rateable person to 
cut wood one day and for the ministers : and that the wood is 
to be equal^^ devided to too ministers as the selectmen for the 
time being shall appoynt." 

Mr. Edward Bulkeley^s pastorate ended, practically, 
March 5, 1694, when the town voted as follows : — 

" Whereas their Eever^ Pastor M'^. Edward Bulkely is under 
such Infermatyes of Bod}^ b}^ Reason of great age that he is not 
capeable of Attending the worke of the ministry as in times 
past, being Also sensible of the obligation that they are under 
to Afford to him a comfortable maintenance dureing the Terme 
of his natural life, that thereby they maj' Testefy their Gratatude 
for his former service in the Gospell, That they the sayd People 
of sajTl Concord do hereby oblige y^ sayd Towne to pay to y^ s*^ 
m'' Bulkel}^ or to his certain order yearly & each year dureing 
his natural life, the sum of thirt}^ pounds of mony the one halfe 
at or before the first of octob'^ sixteen hundred ninty & four, & 
the otherer halfe at or before the first of May sixteen hundred 
ninety & five, which sum as above shall be paid yearly & each 
year upon the sayd Termes. and which sum of Thirt}^ pounds 
truly payd as above, shall be in lieu of the former sallary of 
eighty pounds which the said people were obliged to have payd 
yearly to him the sayd mr. Bulkley for his ministerial service." 

Mr. Bulkeley agreed to this change in his relations 
to the townspeople, but with the proviso that he 
should be " left at liberty by this agreement whether 
to Preach or not to preach any more in Concord." 
He died at Chelmsford, January 2, 1696, at an ad- 
vanced age, and was buried at Concord.^ 

All church matters were passed upon at the meet- 

1 Sewall. 



26 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

ings of the inhabitants held in the meeting-house. 
But, in setthng a minister, it was customary for the 
members of the church to act in the first instance 
as a distinct body, and when an agreement was arrived 
at, they referred the result to the people for ratifica- 
tion in town-meeting. The town organization existed 
quite as much for the support of divine worship as 
for the maintenance of roads and bridges. For an 
instance of the mingling of functions caused by this 
union of interests, witness the following extract from 
the records of the year 1678 : — 

"agreement between John Gotten of Concord and y® too 
Deacons and : : the Selecte men of Concord — viz — y* y® said 
Deacons have exchanged the Towen Cowe for another Cowe of 
the said John Cottens y® said John Cotten to have y^ Town Cowe 
to kill and to have y® vse of the said Cowe now exchanged for 
y® Terme of tow years from y^ date hereof next ensueing 

Egbert Meriam 
Luke Potter 
John Cotton." 

It was the practice to choose a committee '^ to seat 
the meeting-house," who, in the execution of this 
delicate duty, were expected to consider the age, 
wealth, and social or official importance of the 
worshipper.^ 

Yery early in the history of the plantation Mr. 
Ambrose Martin of this town asserted his right to 
freedom of speech, but, like Mr. John Hoar and Dr. 

1 The committee chosen March 7, I685, consisted of Captain Tim- 
othy AVheeler, Deacon Potter, John Smedly, Senior, Cornet Woodis, 
and John Flint, who added to their number Peter Bulkeley, Esq. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 27 

Philip Read at a later date, he found that the free 
expression of opinion on certain subjects was an 
expensive luxury. Martin's case, which arose in 
1639, and attracted much attention/ well illustrates 
the sternness (to use no harsher term) of the colonial 
government; but some good came of the severity 
in this case, for it produced a most valuable doc- 
ument written by Mr. Bulkeley and signed by him 
and his associate and thirteen members of the 
church. 

Martin's offence was that, in argument, he applied 
an unsavory epithet to the church covenant, styled 
it '' a humane invention," and said that " hee won- 
dered at God's patience, feared it would end in the- 
sharpe," and that " the ministers did dethrone Christ 
and set up themselves." He was sentenced to pay 
a fine of £10, and, what was probably quite as unpal- 
atable, advised " to go to Mr. Mather to bee instructed 
by him." Upon the delinquent's refusal to comply 

1 The matter is alluded to by Winthrop and by Lechford, both of 
whom give Martin the title of "Mr." or " Master," which was not 
generally applied, as with ns, but was restricted to those who by reason 
of wealth, social position or public service were ranked as gentlemen. 

*' Now and then a baronet made his home for a time in Boston, but 
otherwise the highest title was Mr. or Mrs., and this title was applied 
only to a few persons of unquestioned eminence. All ministers and 
their wives took the title, and the higher magistrates; but it was not 
given to deputies to the General Court as such. The great body of 
respectable citizens were dubbed Goodman and Goodwife, but officers 
of the church and of the militia were almost invariably called by the 
title of their rank or office. Below the grade of goodman and good- 
wife were stijl the servants, who had no prefix to their plain names." 
H. E. Scudder, in Mem. Hist, of Boston, vol. i. p. 487. 



28 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. |! 

with these orders, his cow was taken and sold, and sub- | 

sequently a levy was made upon his house and land/ I 

The petition of the church above referred to was * 

presented upon his refusal to accept the portion of ( 

the property remaining after the legal demands were j 

satisfied. The original is preserved among the Shat- 

tuck papers, and is in Mr. Bulkeley's handwriting. 

" To the Honoured Court. 
" The Petition of the church of Concord in behalfe of our brother 
Mr. Ambrose Martin. 
" Your humble Petitioners doe intreate, that whereas some 
yeares agoe, our sayd brother Mr. Martin, was fined by the 
Court for some unadvised speeches uttered against the church 
covent, for w^h he was fined ten pounds, and had to the value 
of £20 by distresse taken from him, of which £20, there is one 
halfe remayning in the hands of the Countrey to this day, w% ten 
pounds he cannot be p^swaded to accept of, unlesse he may have 
the whole restored unto him, (w'^h we doe impute unto his in- 
firmitye and weakness) We now considering the greate decay of 
his estate, and the necessitj'es (if not extremit3'es) w^h the familye 
is come unto, we intreate (as was sa3'd) that this honoured Court 
would please to pitye his necessitous condition, and to remitt 
unto him the whole fine w^h was la3'd upon him, without w^h, 
he cannot be p^swaded to receave the prt w^h is due unto him. 
Wherein if this honoured Court shall please to grant this our 
petition, we shall be bound to praj^se God for your tender com- 
passion toward this our poore brother " 

Peter Bulkeley 
John Jones 
Richard Griffin 

Simon Willard Joseph Wheeller , 

Robert Merriam Thomas Foxe 

Thomas Wheeler William busse 

George Wheeler Henry Farwell 

Robert Fletcher James Hosmer 

Luke Potter John Graves. 

^ Mass. Records, i. 252. And see Winthrop and Lechford. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 29 

Such a petition was entitled to be considered in 
the spirit that dictated it, but the application found 
no pity in the breast of that iron man, John Endicott. 
The same hand that tore the cross from the English 
flag wrote these words on the face of the petition ; 

" The case appeares to the Magistrates to be now past helpe 
through his own obstinacye ; but for the over plus upon sale of 
the distresse, he or his wife may have it, when they will call for 
it." 

Jo : Endecott Gov^ " 

Indorsements : " The 5* of the 4^^ moneth — 1644 
" The petit" of Ambrose Martyn of Concord. 
Ordered by the q^t"^ co^t." 

The records of the County Court assure us that 
the " overplus " was never called for.^ 

Compared with other writings of the time, the 
letter of the church is remarkably clear, almost ele- 
gant, in style, and in its tone well calculated to 
accomplish its purpose. More than this, it is in 
perfect accord with the more enlightened humanity 
of the present time, and shows conclusively that, 
at that early day, the virtues of a tolerant spirit 
and a forgiving charity were highly esteemed by the 

^ "Whereas it hath been declared to this court that there was in 
house and land at Concord to the valine of twelve pounds left in the 
handes of Moses Wheat & Thomas ffox by Ambros Martin deceased, 
which hath remained in their handes about nine or ten yeares, It is 
ordered by this court that it shall be divided in mann^ following, viz: 
in an equall division between the wife of Sam^ Rainr & Jno Rogers 
to be payd by the above named parties with addition of foure pounds 
for the forbearance." Records, June 20, 1654. 



30 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

people of this town, whose " religion was sweetness | 
and peace amidst toil and tears." ^ ji 

The prosecutions of Mr. John Hoar and Dr. Philip 
Read occurred about thirty years after the trouble ^ 
with Martin, at a time when the less amiable char- f 
acteristics of Puritanism were more marked here as j 
well as elsewhere. The cases are worthy of mention I 
because these men were, respectively, the earliest \ 
representatives in Concord of the legal and medical I 
professions,^ and because their experiences serve to \ 
show us the high consideration in which the persons I 
and office of the ministers were generally held. That j 
the proceedings against these citizens, based in one 
instance upon mere idle words, and in the other upon 
an opinion expressed in the practice of his profes- 
sion of healing, were calculated to give permanent 
strength to any class of men in a thoughtful com- 
munity, may well be doubted ; but the sincerity of 
the prosecutors cannot be questioned. They hon- 
estly believed that adverse criticism of men whom 
they looked upon as set apart in a peculiar manner 
for the performance of duties especially sacred, was, 
in effect, an attack upon religion itself, which was the 
corner-stone of the commonwealth. The fault was 
in their logic, not in their hearts. 

Hoar was an eccentric lawyer, well known, and 



1 Emerson's Historical Discourse. 

2 William Buss and Jonathan Prescott were described by the addi- 
tion " chirurgeon," the exact signification of which, as applied to 
them, is not known. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 31 



correspondingly disliked, by the authorities, as a man 
of independent thought and a facile tongue, which 
was continually making trouble for him. Whether 
he held any peculiar theological or doctrinal views, 
which in our day would be considered entitled to 
respectful consideration, or merely gave vent to feel- 
ings of irritation against those who were unfriendly . 
to him, is uncertain ; but his courage and kindness 
of heart were unquestionable, and, as will appear, he 
was preeminent among his fellows in public spirit.^ 

About 1667, Philip Read, who wrote himself 
'^ Physitian," married the daughter of Richard 
Rice, settled near his father-in-law at the easterly 
end of the town, and practised his profession in Con- 
cord, Cambridge, Watertown, and Sudbury. A flood 
of litigation descended upon him in 1670, because 
he expressed an unfavorable opinion of Mr. Edward 
Bulkeley's powers as a preacher, in comparison with 
Mr. Estabrook,^ and for saying when called to attend 

1 For uttering complaints that justice was denied him in the courts, 
he was compelled, in 1665, to give a bond for his good behavior, and 
was " disabled to plead any cases but his oune in this jurisdiction." 
Mass. Records, iv. pt. ii. 292. In 1668, he was fined £10 for saying 
" at Ensigne Willm Busse his house that the Blessing which his Master 
Bulkely pronounced in dismissing the publique Assembly in the Meet- 
ing-house was no better than vane babling." Subsequently, on two 
occasions at least, he was summoned into court to answer "for neg- 
lecting the public worship of God on the Lord's days." County Court 
Files, 1668, 1675. 

2 He said that he could preach as well as Mr. Bulkeley, who was 
called by none but a company of blockheads who followed the plow- 
tail, and was not worthy to carry Mr. Estabrook's books after him. It 
is amusing to see what trifles were thought to endanger the welfare of 
church and state. 



32 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

a female patient, that lie thought her illness was 
caused by standing too long during the ceremony of 
administering the Lord's Supper. When charged in 
court with these offences, he fearlessly asserted his 
right to be represented by counsel, but his applica- 
tion to that end was refused. He was fined £20, 
and for a time found it more agreeable to live else- 
where. 

Note. Old Bounds. — A map contained in Bond's Genealogies 
and History of Watertown, shows what purports to be the southeastern 
corner of the Concord grant. Many reasons might be given to prove 
the inaccuracy of the map in this respect, but one will suffice. The 
old Garfield estate, now occupied by Francis A. IVheeler, and lying 
on the eastern and southern borders of Beaver Pond, in the town of 
Lincoln, was conveyed, in the year 1712, by Benjamin Garfield, of 
Watertown, to his son Thomas, of the same town. The land is de- 
scribed as being one hundred and twenty acres, situated in Water- 
town, and is bounded on the west " with the Line between Water- 
town and Concord." Middlesex Deeds, L. 16, f. 324. Eight years 
afterwards, Thomas bought of Nathaniel Ball, of Concord, sixteen 
acres of upland and swamp adjoining the farm, and bounded easterly 
upon AVeston line [the old Watertown line], westerly and southerly 
upon the brook running from Beaver Pond, and northerly upon the 
pond. Ibid. L. 22, f. 386. 

The map above referred to shows the eastern line of Concord at a 
considerable distance to the westward of Beaver Pond, instead of 
grazing its eastern border. 



CHAPTEE II. 

"A shepherd of mankind indeed, 
Who loved his charge, but never loved to lead ; 
One whose meek flock the people joyed to be, 
Not lured by any cheat of birth. 
But by liis clear-grained human worth. 
And brave old wisdom of sincerity/' 

Lowell. 

Early Trials. — Withdrawal of Mr. Jones. — Loss of the 
Leaders. — Eev. Peter Bulkeley, Simon Willard, 
Thomas Flint. — The Kentish Influence. 

It is impossible to over-estimate the trials and actual 
suffering that were endured by the pioneer families. 
The writings of Mr. Higginson and others, which 
were prepared here for publication in the old coun- 
try, were calculated to invest the Englishman of that 
day with the notion that, in soil and natural resources 
generally, New England was something like what we 
understand California to be. Here, as elsewhere in 
the colony, a close grappling with the facts was fol- 
lowed by inevitable disappointment. The meadows 
were wet,^ the soil was found to require hard labor 

^ The following order was passed September 8, 1636: — 

"Whereas the inhabitants of Concord are purposed to abate the 
falls in the ryver upon wcli their towne standeth, whearby they conceive 
such townes as shalbee hereafter planted above them vpon the said 

3 



34 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



to make and keep it productive, and it is written, 
that the people were " forced to cut their bread very 
thin for a long season." 

It cannot be wondered at that some sickened and 
died by reason of the unaccustomed hardships and 
severity of the winter weather, while others lost ' all 
faith in the success of the enterprise, sold their 
estates for a little, and departed. The cattle died, 
wolves preyed upon the herds; homesickness and 
fear of an Indian attack increased the burden of 
their lives, so that it became well-nigh greater 
than they could bear.^ Dissensions arose, at last. 



ryver shall receive benefit by reason of their charge & labo^, it is 
therefore ordered, that such towns or ffarmes as shalbee planted above 
them shall contribute to the inhabitants of Concord pportionable 
both to their charge & adventure, & according to the benefit that the 
said townes or ffarmes shall receive by the dreaning of their medows." 
Mass. Records, i. 178. 

Again, on November 13th, 1644, commissioners were appointed by 
the General Court " to set some order which may conduce to the better 
im^'veing of the said medow & saveing and ^pserving of the hay 
there gotten eith^ by draining the same, or otherwise, & to ^por- 
tion the charges layd out about it as equally & iustly (only upon 
those that oweth the land) as they in their wisdomes shall see meete." 
Ihid., ii. 89, 99. 

A committee was appointed May 15, 1672 " in answer to inhab- 
itants of Concord & Sudbury petition to prevent damage by overfloing 
on ye meadowes." 

1 Winthrop (ii. 36) records the following incident under date of 
April 13, 1641 : — 

" Upon the Lord's day at Concord two children were left at home 
alone, one lying in a cradle, the other having burned a cloth, and fear- 
ing its mother should see it, thrust it into a hay-stack by the door, (the 
fire not being quite out) whereby the hay and house were burned and 
the child in the cradle before they came from the meeting." 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 35 

that threatened the very existence of the plan- 
tation. 

The difficulty, not to say impossibility^ of support- 
ing two ministers, was very soon felt, and Winthrop 
says/ that on July 28, 1642, — 

" Some of the elders went to Concord, being sent for b}^ the 
church there to advise with them about the maintenance of their 
elders, &c. They found them wavering about removal, not find- 
ing their plantation answerable to their expectation, and the 
maintenance of two elders too heavy a burden for them. The 
elders' advice was that they should continue and wait upon God, 
and be helpful to their elders in labor and what they could, and 
all to be ordered by the deacons, (whose office had not formerly 
been improved this way amongst them,) and that the elders 
should be content with what means the church was able at pres- 
ent to afford them, and if either of them should be called to some 
other place, then to advise with other churches about removal." 

Glowing accounts, received from those who had 
gone farther westward, of better things to be at- 
tained in the Connecticut valley, served to increase 
the prevailing uneasiness, and in 1644, ere ten years 
had passed over the little settlement, Mr. Jones 
removed to Fairfield, on Long Island Sound, with 
about one eighth of the entire population. The 
persons whose names follow are either known or 
supposed to have accompanied Mr. Jones : Thomas 
Doggett, John Evarts, Jonathan Mitchell, William 
Odell, John Barron, John Tompkins, Benjamin Tur- 
ney, Joseph Middlebrook, James Bennett, William 
Coslin ( or Costin), Ephraim Wheeler, and Thomas 
Wheeler. 

1 History, ii. 88. 



36 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

We are left in the dark as to the merits of the 
controversy that led to this secession^ and it is as 
well so.^ 

Whatever may have been the immediate cause for 
the removal of Mr. Jones and his friends, it is certain 
that the defection was a misfortune from which Con- 
cord found it hard to recover. The separation was, 
however, inevitable, and in the end, doubtless, ben- 
eficial; for, in 1635, the proportion of the number of 
clergymen in Massachusetts to the entire population, 
was greater than in any other age or country of 
which we have any knowledge. They were, almost 
without exception, men of high character, education, 
and talents ; but the difficulty lay in the fact that 
they were non-producers in a community where the 
paramount and ever pressing question was, how to 
produce the necessaries of life in sufficient quantity 
to supply the daily wants of the family. No one 
would willingly detract from the high consideration 
due them as ministers to the better instincts and aspi- 
rations of their people. State in the strongest terms 
the value of their presence and influence among the 



^ Mather's account of the trouble, as might be expected, is far from 
satisfying. He attributes to Mr, Bulkeley some hastiness of speech, 
and " importunate pressing a piece of charity disagreeable to the will 
of the ruling elder" (Magnalia, iii. c. 10); by which term he is sup- 
posed to refer to Mr. Jones, but ruling elders were selected from the 
laymen. 

The pious Johnson, writing of these times, says: " And verily the 
edge of their appetite was greater to spirituall duties at their first com- 
ing in time of wants, than afterward." 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 37 

colonists^ — the problem was still to be solved. The 
wolf at the door was first to be met, and other 
considerations w^ere, not unnaturally, forced to yield 
their claims for the time. 

Concord was not alone in this respect ; for, under 
similar circumstances and for like reasons, Hooker 
and his followers abandoned Cambridge, to become 
the founders of Hartford. Of the earliest grad- 
uates of Harvard College, a very large proportion 
qualified themselves to become ministers; but it 
is amusing to find that, for lack of employment on 
this side of the water, some went to England to seek 
their fortune. Mr. Bulkeley's son John, a member 
of the first class that graduated, — the class of 1642, — 
took part in this retrograde movement.^ 

The population of the town, in 1644, consisted of 
about fifty families. " Their buildings," says John- 
son, " are conveniently placed, chiefly in one straite 
street under a sunny banke in a low levell. Their 
herd of great cattell are about three hundred." In 
1640, their exemption from public rates having 
ceased, the tax assessed upon Concord was £50 ; 
and since, owing to the scarcity of money, this tax 
was payable in cattle or produce, Simon Willard, 
Thomas Brooke, and William Wood, were appointed 
by the Court a committee " for valuing horses, mares, 
cowes, oxen, goats, & hoggs " in Concord.^ 

The following petition was presented, September 

^ Winthrop, ii. 294; Hutchinson, i. 107, note. 
2 Mass. Records, i. 294, 295. 



38 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. 

7, 1643/ by some who joined the plantation in its 
fifth year : — 

"Whereas your humble petitioners came into this country 
about four years agoe, and have since then lived at Concord, 
where we were forced to buy what now we have, or the most of 
it, the convenience of the town being before given out : 3^our 
petitioners having been brought up in husbandry, of children, 
finding the lands about the town very barren, and the meadows 
very wet and unuseful, especially those we now have interest in ; 
and knowing it is 3'our desire the lands might be subdued, have 
taken pains to search out a place on the north west of our town, 
where we do desire some reasonable quantitie of land may be 
granted unto us which we hope ma}' in time be joined to the 
farms already laid out there to make a village. And so desiring 
God to guide 3^ou in this and all other your weighty occasions, 
we rest your humble petitioners." 

Thomas Wheeler 
Timothy Wheeler 
Ephraim Wheeler 
Thomas Wheeler, Jr. 
Roger Draper 
Richard Lettin. 

Indorsed : " We think some quantitie of land may be granted 
them provided that- within two years they make some good im- 
provement of it." 

The following petition, presented May 14, 1645, 
speaks for all the citizens : — 

' ' To the Wor : 11 Governor, Deputy Governor, with the 
rest of the Assistants and Deputies of the Court now as- 

^ This petition and the one immediately following are reprinted 
from Shattuck's History of Concord (pp. Il-IT). Mr. Shattuck must 
have had the originals, but I have been unable to find any trace of 
them. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 39 



sembled, The humble petition of the Inhabitants of Concord 
sheweth : 

" That whereas we have lived most of us at Concord since our 
coming over into these parts, and are not conscious unto our- 
selves that we have been grosly negligent to imploy that talent 
God hath put into our hands to our best understanding ; Neither 
have wee found au}^ special hand of God gone out against us, 
only the povertie and meannesse of the place we live in not 
answering the labour bestowed on it, together with the badness 
and weetnes of the meadowes, hath consumed most of the estates 
of those who have hitherto borne the burden of charges amongst 
us, and therewith the bodily abihties of maney. This being soe 
eminent above what hath befallen other plantations, hath occa- 
sioned many at severall times to depart from us, and this last 
summer, in the end it, a seventh or eighth part of the Towne 
went to the southward with Mr. Jones, and many more resolved 
to go after them, so that maney houses in the Towne stand voyde 
of Inhabitants, and more are likely to be ; and we are confident 
that if conscience had not restrained, fearing the dissolution of 
the Towne by their removeall, ver}^ many had departed to one 
place or other where Providence should have hopefully promised 
a livelihood. 

" This our condition we thought it our dut}^ to informe you of, 
fearing least if more go from us we shall neither remaj^ne as a 
congregation nor a towne, and then such as are most unwilling 
to depart, whiles there rema3'ne any hojDes of ordinance amongst 
us, will be enforced to leave the place, which if it should come 
to pass, wee desire this may testify on the behalf of such, it was 
not a mynd unsatisfyed with what was convenient, which occa- 
sioned them to depart, but meerly to attaine a subsistence for 
themselves and such as depend on them, and to enjoy ordinances. 
If it be sayd, wee may go to other places and meete with as 
man}' difficulties as here, experience herein satisfies us against 
many reasons. Such as hardly subsisted with us, and were none 
of the ablest amongst us, either for labour or ordering their 
occasions, have much thriven in other places they have removed 
unto. 



40 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

' ' Our humble request is you would be pleased to consider 
how unable we are to beare with our brethren the common 
charges, the premises considered. 

Richard Griffin Robert Fletcher 

JbsEPH Wheeler Walter Edmonds 

Timothy Wheeler William Hunt 

George Wheeler William Wood 

John Smedly James Blood 

Thomas Bateman Joseph Middlebrooke 

These in the name of the rest." 

Indorsed: "We conceive the petitioners of Concord should 
(in consideration of the reasons alledged in this petition) be con- 
sidered in their rates ; but how much, wee leave to those that are 
appo3'nted to assess the several towns when any levie is to be 
made." 

The town's rate this year was reduced to £15, 
payable in cattle, corn, beaver, or money at the op- 
tion of the town ; ^ and the folloAving restriction was 
placed upon removal from the frontier towns: — 

"In regard of the great danger y* Concord, Sudberry, & 
Dedham wilbe exposed unto, being inland townes & but thinly 
peopled,. it is ordered, that no man now inhabiting & settleed 
in any of the said townes (whether married or single) shall re- 
move to any other towne without the allowance of a magistrate, 
or other selectmen of that towne, untill it shall please God to 
settle peace againe, or some other way of safety to the said 
townes, Whereupon this Co^t, or the councell of the cofTion 
weale, shall set the inhabitants of the said townes at their former 
liberty." ^ 

The town was in such straits that, in October, on 
the petition of the inhabitants, Lieutenant Willard 

1 Mass. Records, iii. 27, 28. ^ /^/^^^ ^ 122. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 41 

was excused by the General Court from further 
attendance/ for the purpose, it may be guessed, that 
he might go home to put his stout shoulder to the 
wheel, and by cheering words raise the drooping 
spirits of his neighbors. 

On October 8, 1655, the town lost one of its fore- 
most men by the death of Thomas Flint. Two years 
later. Major Willard received, as a reward for his 
distinguished services to the country, a grant of five 
hundred acres of land,-wliich he selected and laid out 
in the southerly part of Groton. Rev. Peter Bulkeley 
died March 9, 1659 ; and in November following, 
Major Willard sold his estate in Concord to Captain 
Thomas Marshall, of Lynn, and removed to Lancaster, 
whither he had previously been urged to go, and 
where he filled a high position. Subsequently he 
removed to Groton, where his son Samuel was settled 
as minister ; and after the destruction of the town by 
the Indians, he took up his abode at Charlestown, 
where he died April 24, 1676, at the age of seventy- 
one years. 

Thus, within a short time, the town was deprived 
of the three leading men of the first generation. 
We can imagine the sad retrospection with which 
the survivors of the original company beheld the oft 
repeated visitations by which their number was being 
lessened ; but new men came to the front, and the 
foot of progress was never stayed for an instant. 

Since the field afforded by the town of Concord 

^ Mass. Records, ii. 44. 



42 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



was not rich enough for the labors of two ministers, 
fortunately the right man stayed, free to execute 
what his judgment dictated. Without doubt, Rev. 
Peter Bulkeley ^ will always hold the most prominent 
place in our early history. Born at Odell, January 
31, 1583, of gentle lineage, he subsequently became 
a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and a 
Bachelor of Divinity. Succeeding his father in the 
parish church, he preached for about twenty years, 
until, with others of the non-conforming clergymen, 
he was silenced by Archbishop Laud, and turned 
his face toward the new land of promise lying far 
away to the westward. 

Distinguished by education, wealth, family con- 
nection, and religious fervor, his position was a 
commanding one among his fellow townsmen, and 
of no small eminence in the colony. At times, 
wearied and disheartened by the struggle for exist- 
ence going on all around him, his mind would revert 
to the quiet scenes of his old home in England, where, 
in obedience to the voice of conscience, he had re- 
linquished much that was attractive to a man of his 
training and temperament. His letters show that 
he felt the loneliness of his position. He says, " I 

1 As regards the spelling of the name, a curious perplexity is caused 
by the careless habits of writing that prevailed in. the old times. The 
first Peter uniformly, it is believed, wrote the name as printed in the 
text, but his son Edward wrote it indifferently " Bulkely " or " Bulk- 
ley;" and Edward's son. Major Peter, commonly, but not invariably, 
used the form sanctioned by his grandfather. However spelled, the 
name was undoubtedly pronounced as if written BucUeij. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 43 

am here shut up, and do neither see nor hear ; " ^ and 
again, " I lose much in this retired wilderness in 
which I live." ^ With advancing age and increasing 
physical weakness came distrust of " the multitude/' 
accompanied by misgivings that the churches were 
tending towards too great liberty in religious matters, 
but his faith in the future of his own town was un- 
shaken until " the spirit struck the hour," and the 
good man was released from earthly trials. Like 
the great Jewish leader whose example he loved to 
follow, he was laid to rest without epitaph or me- 
morial stone, " and no man knoweth his sepulchre 
unto this day." ^ 

Very different but quite as interesting character- 
istics are presented in the person of Simon Willard, 
who, equally with the first minister, is entitled to 

1 To Thomas Shepard, Feb. 12, 1639. See Sliattuck, 154. 

2 To John Cotton, Dec. 17, 1640. The original letter is pre- 
served among the Shattuck papers, in the library of the New England 
Historic Genealogical Society, in Boston. A comparison with the 
copy printed in Shattuck's History (p. 154), discloses a serious error; 
for the printed copy makes Mr. Bulkeley say that there is warrant in 
the Word for making the doors of the church narrower, whereas in 
fact he said that the remedy nnder discussion could not be applied 
without making those doors narrower than was warranted, — which is 
quite a different matter. For "narrower. This we have warrant 
for," read " narrower than we have warrant for." 

3 Dr. Ripley, in his " Half-Century Sermon," said : " There is 
reason to believe that the three first ministers, viz. Peter Bulkeley, 
Edward Bulkeley, and Joseph Estabrook, were laid in the same tomb," 
Again, in the same discourse : " If the spot [Mr. Peter Bulkeley 's 
grave] can be ascertained (which is probable) , I would that at least a 
plain block of gi*anite should there be placed, with his name indelibly 
inscribed." 



44 COKCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

honor as founder of the town. Knowledge of men, 
skill in surveying lands, experience gained by trading 
with the natives, were qualities that fitted him in a 
peculiar manner to take the lead in locating the land 
granted by the colonial government, and fortifying 
the title by peaceful negotiations wath the Indian 
occupants. As deputy and assistant he w^as well 
known in the colony, and by the aid of his influence 
wdth those in power, the controversy with Watertown 
about the eastern boundary was brought to a favor- 
able termination. 

As captain of the train-band, Willard directed the 
military spirit of his neighbors when miUtary dis- 
tinction was second only to that of the church. He 
surveyed the lands allotted to the settlers, made 
their deeds, w^as arbitrator in their controversies, 
kept their records, and, last office of all, settled their 
estates after they w^ere dead. A person like this, — 
useful in any community, at any stage of its history, 
— was indispensable to the plantation at Musketa- 
quid. We shall hear of Willard again, holding high 
command in the Indian wars, and affording much- 
needed assistance to his former townsmen. 

It will always be one of Mr. Bulkeley's strongest 
claims to our veneration, that, recognizing the su- 
preme value of qualities not his own, he gave gener- 
ous encouragement and active co-operation in aid of 
the plans devised by the robust mind of his friend 
and parishioner. Neither could have been spared ; 
for without Willard, the shrewd, practical man of 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 45 

, affairs, the settlement might never have been at- 
tempted ; but after the enterprise was begun, the 
end might easily have come in discouragement and 
loss, had it not been for the pious ministrations, 
and private as well as pubhc benefactions, of Mr. 
Bulkeley. 

Another distinguished citizen, Mr. Thomas Flint, 
brought with him from Matlock, — a charming place, 
not unknown to American travellers, — two thou- 
sand pounds sterling,^ a sum which, measured by its 
purchasing power, would be equivalent to a much 
greater amount at the present day. This fortune 
was liberally expended in building up the infant 
settlement. His entrance into public life as a 
deputy was emphasized by an order passed March 
12, 1638, that 

*' the ffreemen of Concord, & those that were not free, w^^ 
had hand in the vndewe election of M'' Fhnt, are fined 6. 8*^ a 
peece." ^ 

In 1639, he was appointed to act with Simon Wil- 
lard and Richard Grifiin as commissioners, " to have 
the ending of small matters this year," — a local 
tribunal invested with jurisdiction of minor offences 
and civil controversies involving small amounts. 
When assistant, in 1649, he showed the austerity 
of the Puritan by joining with Governor Endicott 

1 £4,000, according to Shattuck. But Palfrey (Hist. 'New Eng- 
land, i. 613, note) and Savage (Winthrop, II. 57, note) both prefer 
the statement of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, who gives the smaller sum. 
See Mr. Bulkeley 's Letter, 3 Mass. Hist. Soc. Colls., i. 47. 

2 Mass. Records, i. 221. 



46 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

in a protest against the wearing of long hair, as " a 
thing uncivil and nnmanlj, whereby men cloe de- 
forme themselves, and offend sober and modest men, 
and doe corrupt good manners." ^ 

Among other dignities, Flint enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of being empowered " to marry in Concord and 
Sudbury." 

The quiet, uneventful lives of the majority of the 
early settlers, although interesting in every minute 
detail to the genealogist or family historian, could 
not be expected to furnish much that would hold the 
attention of the general reader. But we shall act 
wisely if we rescue from oblivion, and preserve in 
some way, every bit of information that can be 
obtained concerning them. Their names will occur 
frequently in the following pages, and the more one 
can learn of the bearers of those names, the more 
reason he will have to honor the earnest simplicity 
that characterized their lives. 

Theirs was not the pride of birth, but they fairly 
represented, in their stern Puritan way, the best of 
the bone and sinew of English yeomanry, — possessors 
in a high degree of that pluck and endurance that 
seem destined eventually to bring the greater part 
of the world under the dominion of the Ano;lo Saxon. 

The Kentish infusion was very strong in the early 
population of Concord, and, indeed, of Middlesex 
County. General Gookin, of Cambridge, magistrate, 
warrior, and philanthropist ; Edward Johnson, the 

1 Hutchinson, i. 143. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 47 

founder of Woburn; and our own Major Willard, 
were conspicuous instances in a multitude of humbler 
men. 

It was matter of great moment to America that, 
instead of the English law of primogeniture, New 
England adopted the older rule of the common law, 
by virtue of which all the children succeeded to their 
father's estate by equitable division. The same prin- 
ciple existed under a modified form in the custom of 
Kent known as " gavelkind," and was expressly rec- 
ognized by AYilliam the Conqueror. In Massachu- 
setts, the law gave a double portion to the eldest 
son, but in other respects the sons and daughters in- 
herited equally. 

The proud distinction of the Kentishmen was the 
tenacity with which they held to their rights and cus- 
toms, and the unhesitating courage, regardless of 
difftculties or consequences, shown in their defence. 
They formed the foremost rank at the battle of 
Hastings, and made terms with the Conqueror at 
Swanscombe.^ Twenty thousand men of Kent fol- 
lowed Jack Cade into camp on Blackheath, for the 
avowed purpose of punishing evil ministers and 
redressing the grievances of the people. 

^ The men of Kent were never subdued. The shield of the county 
bears an unbridled white horse, above the proud motto "Invicta." 
The chorus in Thomas D' Urfey's famous " Song to the Brave Men of 
Kent " is a vigorous expression of local pride: — 

" Sing, sing in praise of Men of Kent, 
So loyal, brave, and free ; 
'Mongst Britain's race, if one surpass, 
A man of Kent is he." 



48 CONCOKD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. j 

— — — ■ ■ — ■ ■ — • j 

I 

It is by no accident that the people of Middlesex i 
County have been equally quick to rise in defence of '. 
their rights, and to put down the oppressor ; for the J 
people of Middlesex derive their origin, in great part, j; 
from the freest and most independent of English \ 
counties. The patriots of Concord Bridge, Lex- | 
ington, and Bunker Hill found their prototypes at 
Hastings and Swanscombe. 



CHAPTER III. 

" They added ridge to valley, brook to pond, 
And sighed for all that bounded their domain." 

Emerson. 

The New Grant, or ''Concord Village." 
Blood's Farms. 

For reasons the force of which it is difficult for us to 
appreciate, it was not long before the Concord set- 
tlers, individually and collectively, were clamoring 
for more land. We have already remarked that 
Thomas Wheeler and others, who came to Concord 
about 1639, found the most convenient of the lands 
already given out, and, in 1643, petitioned for a grant 
of land on the northwest, which was conceded on 
condition that they improved the grant within two 
years.^ 

Even after the loss of population caused by the 
withdrawal of Mr. Jones, land that is now the most 
productive in town was then deemed inadequate for 
the few families remaining. We have noticed; in the 
town's petition of 1645, the pathetic account of '^ the 
povertie and meannesse of the place," " the badness 
and weetnes of the meadowes," the loss of popula- 
tion and resources, and the prevalence of empty 
houses.^ The petitioners were considered in their 
rates, but the true remedy for all troubles was 

1 Ante, p. 38. 2 ^^^^^ p^ 39. 



50 CONCORD IN" THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

thought to be more land, and petitions to that end 

were presented in 1650 and 1651. The latter, which 

lacks signature and date, is here given : ^ — 

"To the much honoured governour, the Deput3'-governour, 
with the rest of the Magistrates and the deputies of the generall 
Court assembled at Boston, the humble petition of the Inhab- 
itants of Concord. Sheweth that whereas wee were the first 
that in this Jurisdiction began an Inland plantation where the 
land for most part is more barren than upon the sea-coast, and 
difliculties greater than where nearness of neighbourhood affords 
a supply of such things with convenieucy as such beginnings 
stand in need of. Notwithstanding wee have not troubled the 
Court with petitions for further enlargement onlj' the last yeare 
wee petitioned for a parcell of land if the same might in any 
measure be likely to make a village, which upon the request of 
some to have a farme there wee were content to relinquish, with 
which farme and some others together with the bounds of Water- 
town, Sudbury, and the last grant unto Cambridge, wee have 
now but one small out gate left open, and our land much of it 
being pine land w^^ affords very little feeding for cattel. Now 
the Lord haveing bestowed upon most of us children, which wee 
had rather should wrestle with difficulties neare unto us than to 
send them into more remote parts. Our humble petition unto 
the Court is : they would be pleased to grant us a village from 
the farme granted the last yeare unto Mrs. Hough unto the 
bounds of Sudbury, and into the Contrey foure or five miles." 

Indorsements: " Concord petition. Refer^ to y® next Ses- 
sion p Curiam 16 8 51." 

" The Deputies thinke meete to graunte this petition for the 
space of fower miles, provided that they plaunt uppon the place 
which they desire befour any others doo appeare 

WM ToRREY Clerk." 
" 16 (8) 51. Consented to by the magist^ 

Edward Rawson Secy." 

1 Mass. Archives, v. 112, p. 397. Erroneously classed with the 
papers of the year 1685. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 51 



If the record above given be considered evidence 
of a grant, it was upon the express condition that the 
petitioners should occupy the land before any others ; 
and before anything was done under this order of the 
Court, Chelmsford was laid out, and Nashoba granted 
to the Indians. A new petition, or a renewal of the 
old one in October, 1654,^ was met with an order 
that they should make a return into court of 
" what quantitie of land yet remaynes vndisposed of, 
which they desire."^ The following return^ was 
made : — 

v To the Honored Generall Court assembled at Boston. The 
returne of the number of acres of land granted as an addition 
to the Towne of Concord according to the order of the General 
Court in 1654. 

'' "Whereas the Court was pleased to graunt to our Towne a 
village some fouer years since upon condition the}^ should im- 
prove it before others, but neglecting theire opportunity, the 
plantation of Chelmsford have taken a good parte of the same, 
also Nattatawants having a plantation granted him which takes 
up a good some also, we whose names are subscribed have taken 
a survey of the rest rema3'ning, and wee finde about seven thou- 
sand acres left out, of which Major Willard hath two thousand 
acres, except a little part of one end of his farme which h'es in 
the place or parcell of vacant land, that was since given to 
Shawshine, this tract of land being by the last Court granted to 



1 Petition of Robert and Elizabeth Blood in Mass. Archives, v. 
39, p. 858. 

2 Mass. Records, ii. 364. 

3 What follows is a reprint from Shattuck (History, p. 38), who 
appears to have seen a copy of the original, attested by Secretary Raw- 
son *' as a true copie compared with original on file as it was exhib- 
ited to the Generall Court, May, 1655." 



52 CONCORD ijsr the colonial period. 

our Towne on this condition that at this Court we should acquaint 
the Court of the quantitye of what wee have. 

Tho. Brooke 
Timothy Wheeler 
Joseph Wheeler 
George Wheeler 
George Heaward 
John Jones." 

On the 23d of May, 1655, the following order was 

passed, which is here printed from the Massachusetts 

Records, vol. iii. p. 387 : — 

" Seuerall of the inhabitants of Concord ^fering a petition 
for the graunt of some land, in answer wherevnto, the Court 
thinkes meete to graunt them fine thowsand acors in the place 
mentioned in their pet, qp-vided it hinder not any former 
graunts." 

An order which seems to apply to the same sub- 
ject is given in vol. iv. part i. p. 237, under date 
of May 29, 1655, as follows : — 

"In ans^ to the peticon of the inhabitants of Concord, the 
Court doth graunt them five thousand acres of land for feed- 
ing, according to theire peticon, provided it hinder not an}'' 
former graunts." 

The Indian claim to the New Grant was met 

and satisfied, December 20th, 1660, in the following 

manner : ^ — 

"An agrement mad betwene the Ingenes of Mashoba and 
the Towne of Concord as foloweth : 

" In Consideration, for the last grant of land to Concord, by 
the genrall Court for an Inlargment to the Towne ; the Towne 
of Concord doth give to the plantres of Mashoba fiveteen pounds 

1 Town Records. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 53 

at six a peny which giueth them full sertisfection in Witnes 
whereof they doe set to there hands, this 20. of the 10. m? 1660 ; 

In the ;psents of, the marke — ) of nssquan : the marke V of 
JosejDh Wheler marchnt thorns, the marke W of Wabatut. the 

John Shipard marke •— of gret James natocotos a blind man. 

John Jones the marke ) of pompant the marke 5 of gomps. 

John Thomas; and John tahatowon " 

A preliminary survey by Thomas Noyes was fol- 
lowed by a new order, reserving two thousand acres 
out of the number actually found and returned, and 
granting the remaining three thousand/ 

"Att A Gennerall Court held at Boston 11th of October 
1665 

*' In Answer to the petition of Concord for an enlargement of 
their bounds : This Court doe Grant them a tract of land con- 
teyned in a plott returned to this Court under the hand of 
Ensigne Noyes by estimation the whole being about five thou- 
sand acres. Whereof the Court reserveth two thousand acres 
to be layd out to either Indians or English as this Court shall 
see meete hereafter to dispose and grant and the remaind"" being 
about three thousand acres this court doe grant to Concord so 
as the same doe not abridge any former grant made by this 
Court and It is ordered that Leiftenant Beers & Leiftenant 
Noj-es lay out the same & make their returne to the next Court 
of Election." ^ 

In pursuance of this order, Eichard Beers and 
Thomas Noyes, in 1666, laid out the New Grant, or 
Concord Village, as it was called, comprising the 

^ It is not so clear as one might wish, but from the return of Beers 
and Noyes (post, p. 54) the inference may be drawn that the three 
thousand acres here spoken of were in addition to the five thousand 
granted in 1655. 

2 Mass. Archives, v. 39, p. 860. 



54 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

present territory of Acton, and portions of Carlisle 
and Littleton ; and made their return the following 
year.^ 

" At a General Court of Election heald at Boston 15*^ of May 
1667 Humbl}' sheweth this Hono^^ Court that we Richard Beers 
of Watertowne and Thomas No3^es of Sudbur}', being appointed 
to La}'^ out & measure to the Inhabitants of Concord a Tract or 
Tracts of Land, next adjoining to their first Grant in order to 
which (wee the aboves^) did Lay out & measure unto the Inhab- 
itants of Concord tlieir second Grant being five thousand Acres 
of Land Granted in the 3'ear 1655 next Adjoining to their first 
Grant, Begining at the southwest Angle of their old Bounds ex- 
tending their s^ Southerly Line uppon a norwest point four degrees 
northerly (according to the meridian compass) two miles & two 
hundred & eighty Rods, there makeing a right Angle on a bare 
hill, and from thence a line upon a north east point four degrees 
easterly, two miles one halfe & fifty Rods, There meeting with 
Nashoba Plantation Line, Running the Line of s^ plantation to 
their Angle, one mile one Quarter & sixty Rods, nearest hand 
upon an Easterly point there makeing a Right angle, Runing a 
Line being the Line of the Indian plantation Two miles one 
quarter and sixty Rods, there being Bounded by Chelmesford 
Line and Billerica Line, as is more plainely described by a plott, 
in which plott is contained nine thousand & eight hundred acres 
of Land, one thousand & eight hundred acres being formerly 
Granted to Major Willard, the other eight thousand being 
Granted to the Inhabitants of Concord & Layd out the 6^'^ of 
May, 66. 

Given under our hands. Richard Beers, 

Thomas Notes Survej^er. 

The Court Approves of this Returne 

E. R S." 

1 The return is printed from a copy attested by Secretary Addington 
and entered upon the records of the town. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 55 

The town voted, January 27, 1668, that the 

Enlargement 

' ' shall ley for a ffree Comon ; to the ^sent householdres of 
Concord ; and such as shall hereafter, be approved & allowed ; 
except such psell or ^sells of it as shall be thought met to 
make farmes for the use & bennifet of the Towne.'* 

A grant was made to Lieutenant Joseph Wheeler 
of six hundred and ten acres on Chelmsford line, 
lying in the form of a triangle, the point towards 
the northwest, and extending southwest to Nashoba, 
southeast to Nagog Pond. Wheeler sold this in 
1678 to Ralph Shepard.^ Another tract was occupied 
for a number of years by John Law and Stephen 
Law, as tenants of the town, under an annual rent 
of " one Indian corne," which was customarily paid 
on the day of the annual town meeting. 

At the same meeting, in 1668, it was further 

agreed that 

" all men that have not Comon of there owne for there Cattle, 
acording to the Towne order shall pay 6d. a best, to those that 
have Comon to lett to them in there querter, and if there be not 
Comon to let them ; the}^ then to put there Cattle elcewhere." 

One year later, on January 12, 1669, a lease was 
made to Captain Thomas Wheeler, for the term of 
twenty-one years, of two hundred acres of upland 
and sixty acres of meadow, lying west of Nashoba 
Brook ; in consideration of which, he agreed to pay 
a yearly rent of £5 after the expiration of the first 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 7, f. 201. 



56 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

seven years, and to build a house forty feet in length, I 

eighteen feet wide, and twelve feet stud " covred ; 
with shingles, with a payer of Chimnes ;" also a barn 

forty feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and twelve ^ 

feet stud. These buildings were to be left at the | 

end of the term for the use of the town, with thirty | 

acres of land in tillage and sufficiently fenced. t 

He agreed further, and this was the main purpose ' 

of the lease, to receive and pasture the dry cattle ; 

belonging to the townspeople, not to exceed one 1 

hundred and twenty in number, nor to be fewer than J 

eighty. The cattle were to be marked by their own- ] 

ers, and delivered to Captain Wheeler at his house ; I 

and the price was fixed at two shillings a head, pay- ' 

able one third in wheat, one third in rye or pease, ; 

and one third in Indian corn. The owners were > 

to " keep the said herd twelve sabboth dayes yearely, : 

at the appointment, & acording to the proportion by ' 

the said Thomas or his heires allotted." j 

The number of cattle received under this agree- ! 

ment fell below the lowest limit, and in January, j 

1673, the terms of the contract were so modified that | 

I 

Captain Wheeler was entitled to receive one shilling ■ 
per head. j 
In 1684, when the depositions already referred to | 
were taken, it was thought expedient to obtain from . 
the Indians new and formal deeds of the land com- 
prised within the New Grant. The deeds then taken ; 
are given below. The first one ^ relates to a tract of j 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 69, f. 57. : 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 67 

one thousand acres, forming the southerly portion of 
the New Grant. 

" To all People to whom these presents may come, Greeting 
Know 3^e that We, Mary Neepananm John Speen and Sarah 
Speen Dorothy Winnetow Peter Muckquamack of Natlck and 
James Speen & Elizabeth Speen his wife of Waymasset 
Indians For and in Consideration of a vahiable sum of money 
to us in hand paid by Capt. Timothy Wheeler Henry Woodis 
James Blood and John Flint The Receipt whereof we do hereby 
acknowledge and therewith to be full}^ satisfied and contented 
have sold and by these presents do sell aliene enfeoffe and con- 
firm unto the said Capt. Timothy Wheeler Henry Woodis James 
Blood & John Flint of Concord in the Count}- of Middlesex in 
the Massachusetts Colony in New England for the use and 
behoof of themselves and the rest of the Proprietors of the 
said Town of Concord a certain Tract or parcel of Land con- 
taining by Estimation a Thousand acres be the same more or 
less and is situate 13'ing and being within the last Grant of Land 
by the General Court to the said Town of Concord and is 
bounded Southeast by Sudbury & the Land of Stow alias 
[Pompasitticutt] and Northwest b}' the said Stow running by 
them upon that Line about a Mile and a Quarter, near to a Hill 
by the Indians called Naaruhpanit and from thence by a strait 
Line to the North River at the old bounds of the said Town of 
Concord unto them the said Timothy Wheeler Henry Woodis 
James Blood & John Flint for themselves and for the use & 
behoof of the Rest of the Proprietors of the said Town of 
Concord to them their heirs assigns and successors forever and 
we the said Marj^ Neepananm John Speen and Sarah Speen his 
wife Dorothy Winnetow Peter Muckquamuck and James Speen 
and Elizabeth his wife, do hereby covenant and Promise to and 
with the foresaid Timothy Wheeler Henrj^ Woodis James Blood 
& John Fhnt and the rest of the Proprietors of the said Town 
of Concord that we are the true proprietors of and have good 
Right & full power to grant bargain & sell the above granted 
& bargained premises unto the said Timothy Wheeler Henry 



58 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Woodis James Blood and John Flint and the Rest of the Pro- 
prietors of the said Town of Concord to them their heirs suc- 
cessors and assigns forever and that the said Timothy Wheeler 
Henry Woodis James Blood John Flint and the Rest of the 
Proprietors of the said Town of Concord them their heirs 
assigns and successors forever shall and may at all Times and 
from time to time forever hereafter peaceably have hold occupy 
possess and enjo}^ the above granted Premises in fee simple, 
be the same more or less without the Let denial or contradiction 
of us the said Mar}^ Neepanaum John Speen, & Sarah Speen 
his wife Dorothy Winnetow Peter Muckquamuck and James 
Speen and Elizabeth his wife, or any of us or any of our heirs 
or any other person or persons whatsoever lawfully claiming & 
having any Right Title or Interest therein or to or in any part 
or parcel thereof— 

In acknowledgment of this our act & Deed we have hereto 
put our hands and seals this fifth Day of May in the year of 
our Lord one thousand six hundred eighty & four 

Signed Sealed & Del^ in John Speen his mark \ and seal 

the presence of Sarah Speen her mark and seal 

Moses Parker James Speen and seal 

Noah Brooks. Elizabeth Speen her mark X and 

Samuel Wheeler, Junr seal 

Benjamin Bohow his mark B Dorothy Winnetow her mark -j- 

Sarah Bohow her mark Q and seal 

John Speen & Sarah his wife James Speen and Ehzabeth his 
wife and Dorothy alias Winnetow acknowledged the within 
written instrument to be their Act & Deed. 

May 5. 1684. before Petr Bulkley assist." 

The following deed purports to convey eight thou- 
sand acres : ^ — 

*' To all People to whom These presents maj^ come Greeting 
Know ye that We John Thomas and Naanonsquaw his 
wife Tasunsquaw The Rehct of Wawbon dec^ and eldest 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 69, f. 58. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 59 

Daughter to Tasattawan Sagamore dec<? Thomas Wawbon her 
son Solomon Thomas John Nasquaw James Casmnpal Sen^ and 
Sarah his wife & Sarah the Relict widow of Peter Conowaj Indi- 
ans for and in Consideration of the sum of one and twenty 
pounds, fifteen of it long since paid to us [blank in record'] and 
the Remanider which is six pounds is now paid to us by Capt. 
Timothy Wheeler Henry Woodis James Blood & John Flint of 
Concord the Receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge and 
therewith to be fully satisfied and contented have sold and by 
these presents do sell aliene enfeoffe and confirm unto the said 
Timothy Wheeler Henry Woodis James Blood and John Flint of 
Concord in the County of Middlesex in the Massachusetts Col- 
ony in New England for the use & behoof of themselves and 
the Rest of the Proprietors of the said Town of Concord a 
certain Tract or parcel of Land containing by Estimation Eight 
Thousand acres be the same more or less and is situate l^dng and 
being within the last Grants of Land by the General Court to 
the Town of Concord and is bounded Southeast by the old bounds 
of the said Town of Concord and is bounded Easterly partly by 
Billerica parti}" by a Farm formerly laid out by Major Willard 
for himself and parti}' b}' Chelmsford till it meets with Nashoby 
Line and then Westerly by the said Nashoby to the Southeast 
Corner of the said Nashob}^ and [then northerly] b}" the said 
N[ashob3'] till it meets with St[ow] and so bounded northwest 
by the said Stow till it comes Near to a Hill by the Indians 
called Naaruhpanit and then running upon a strait Line to the 
North River at the old bounds of the said Town of Concord unto 
them the said Timothy Wheeler Henr}^ Woodis James Blood and 
John Flint agents for the Town of Concord and to the rest of 
the Proprietors of the said Town of Concord to them their Heirs 
and Successors and assigns forever and we the said John Thomas 
and Nasquaw James Casumpat and Sarah his w4fe and Sarah the 
Relict widow of Peter Connoway do hereb}" covenant and promise 
to and with the foresaid Timoth}'^ Wheeler Henr}' Woodis James 
Blood and John Flint and the rest of the Proprietors of the 
Town of Concord that we are the true Proprietors of and have 
good Right & full power to grant bargain and sell the above 



60 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

granted and bargained premises unto the said Timothy Wheeler 
Henry Woodis James Blood & John Flint and the rest of the 
Proprietors of the Town of Concord to them their heivs Succes- 
sors and assigns forever and that the said Timoth}- Wheeler 
Henry Woodis James Blood and John Flint & the rest of the 
Proprietors of the said Town of Concord them their Heirs Suc- 
cessors & assigns shall and may at all times & from time to 
time forever hereafter peaceably have hold occupy possess and 
enjoy the above granted premises in fee simple be the same more 
or less without the Let denial or Contradiction of us the said John 
Thomas and Naanonsquaw his wife Tasunsquaw widow and eldest 
Daughter of Tasattawan Late Sagamore dec? Thomas Wawbon 
Solomon Thomas John Nasquaw James Casumpat Sen^ & Sarah 
his wife and Sarah the Relict widow of Peter Conowa3^ or any 
of us or an}' of our heirs or any other person or persons what- 
soever lawfully claiming & having any Right Title or Interest 
therein or to or in any part or parcel thereof. 

In acknowledgment of this our act & Deed we have hereto 
put our hands and seals this fourteenth Day of August in the 
year of our Lord one Thousand Six hundred Eighty and four. 

Signed Sealed & Del'd, John Thomas his mark H and seal 

in the presence of Naanunsquaw her mark V\ and seal 

Ebenezer Tngolds Tasunsquaw her mark y\ and seal 

Joseph Shambery his mark W Thomas Wabon and seal 

Andrew Pittamey his mark A Solomon Thomas his mark S and 
Joseph WooUey seal 

James Casumpat Sen^ his mark Z 

and seal 
John Nasquaw his mark 7" and seal 
Sarah the widow of Peter 

Conoway her mark > and seal 
Sarah the wife of James 

Casumpat her mark q and seal 

Midd. ss. Concord August the 29. 1730 before his Majesty's 
Court of General Sessions of the Peace appeared Mr. Joseph 
Woolley and made oath that he was present and saw John 
Thomas Naanonsquaw Tasunsquaw Thomas Wabun Solomon 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 61 

Thomas James Casumpat John Nasqua Sarah the widow of 
Peter Conaway and Sarah the v/ife of James Casumpat execute 
the within Instrument as their act & Deed and that he together 
with Ebenezer Ingolds Joseph Shamberry & Andrew Pittamey 
at the same time sot to their hands as Witnesses to the Execution 
thereof 

Att Saml Phipps Cler. Pacis." 

The territory extending down the river north of 
the original grant, and known as Blood's Farms con- 
t sisted of three original grants by the General Court 
I to Thomas Allen, Increase Nowell and Atherton 
Hough, respectively ; to Allen and Nowell five hun- 
dred acres each; to Hough, four hundred acres. 
The followino; instrument^ refers to the Allen and 
^' Nowell grants, as well as to the Winthrop and Dud- 
ley Farms which were on the opposite side of the 
1 river, entirely outside the bounds of Concord, and 
I within the present limits of Bedford and Billerica. 

"A Record of a purchase of the Indians riglit vnto certaine 
land, by the parties followeing, the 20*^^ of the 4^'^ month 1642. 

An agreement made in the behalfe of M"^ Winthrope, M"^ 
Dudley M Nowell, & M Allen about theire farmes lyeing 
vppon Concord River in manner as followeth, betweene Symon 
Willard in the behalfe of those gentlemen aforesaid, & Natta- 
hatawants Sacliim of the same ground. 

The said S3-mon doth purchase of the said Nattahattawants 
all the ground w"^ the Court granted to the forenamed gentlemen 
l3'eing vpon both sides of Concord River, that is M'^ Winthrope 
o'^ present Governour one thousand two hundred & sixtj^ Acres, 
M"^ Dudley one thousand fj've hundred Acres on the South East 
side of the River, M^ Nowell fyve hundred Acres. & M'^ Allen 
fyve hundred Acres on the North East side of the River, & in 

1 Suffolk Deeds, L. 1, f. 34. 



62 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Consideration hereof, the said S3"mon giveth to the said Natta- 
hattawants sixe fadom of Waompampege & one wastcoate, & one 
breeches, and the said Nattahattawants doth covenant & bind 
himselfe, that hee nor any other Indians shall set traps within 
this ground so as any Cattle miglit receive hurt thereby, and 
what Cattle shall receive any hurt by this meanes he shalbe 
lyable to make it good 

Witnes the marke of V Natahattawants 

John Mills the marke of Winnippin an 

the mark W of William Gamlin Indian that traded for him." 
the mark of V Sarah Mills 



A portion of Blood's Farms came into the owner- 
ship of Robert Blood as early as 1642, and the 
remaining lands were afterwards acquired by him 
and his brother John. Robert, who married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Major Willard, came into possession 
by purchase from the Indians, and in the right of 
his wife, of other large tracts extending westward 
to the Chelmsford line and southward to the Con- 
cord bounds.^ Taken together, these farms formed 
a large part of the town of Carlisle. 

The Bloods described themselves in their deeds as 
" of Middlesex County," or " living neer Concord.'* 
The Farms constituted a distinct territory outside of 
the regularly authorized plantations, but having no 
separate civil or ecclesiastical government. The oc- 
cupants paid their rates in Billerica, but when the 
Indian troubles arose, they found Concord a more con- 
venient shelter, and paid rates in this town. Billerica, 
however, recovered judgment for the rates assessed 



1 See Middlesex Deeds, L. 12, f. 110. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD^ 63 



during their residence here, and Concord was obliged 
to refund the amount collected.^ The question of 
jurisdiction caused new embarrassments, and it was 
at last declared by the General Court, October 11, 
1682, to be a grievance that sundry gentlemen, 
merchants and others, owned great tracts of land, 
which were daily increasing in value, but notwith- 
standing, did not pay to public charges ; and it was 
therefore ordered that such persons should pay to 
the treasurer of the county two shillings for every 
hundred acres of land, and in that proportion for 
smaller amounts. Towns were required to make 
the assessment upon all such lands lying within their 
bounds, " and also to assess all countrey grants of 
lands called farmes belonging to peculiar persons, 
that lye neerest vnto such toune or tonnes." ^ 

Acting under the authority thus conferred, the 
Concord constables, armed with tax warrants and 
supported by a sufficient posse, visited the Farms, 
and were received by Robert Blood and his two sons 
with contumelious speeches, accompanied by actual 
violence to their persons. In 1684, Robert Blood, 
Senior, was fined £10 and ordered to give bond, 
for abusing John Wheeler, the constable of Concord, 
by reproachful speeches, and vilifying his Majesty's 
authority ; and the next year his violent treatment 
of Constable Eleazer Flagg led to a like punish- 
ment.^ 

1 Mass. Records, v. 188. 2 75;^?., v. 375. 

2 County Court Records. 



64 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

It yvas on all accounts to be desired, that this state 
of affairs should not continue. The occupants of the 
Farms were compelled by law to pay rates in some 
one town at least, whether they received any benefit 
or not. They wished for roads, but no one felt 
either duty or desire to afford them any better 
fxcilities of communication with the more thickly 
settled places. Finally, March 17, 1686, Robert 
Blood, with the assent in writing of his sons Robert 
and Simon, negotiated a treaty with Peter Bulkeley, 
Esquire, Henry Woodis, and John Smedly, Senior, 
acting in behalf of the town of Concord, by the 
terms of which it was agreed that Robert Blood 
should thereafter pay in Concord all civil and eccle- 
siastical dues and assessments incumbent upon him, 
and a due proportion of whatever expense there 
might be in building or repairing the meeting-house. 

On the other hand, he and his heirs were to be 
^' from time to time, freed and exempted from all 
Towne offices," and their waste land was not to be 
reckoned in their minister rates.^ It was agreed that 
convenient roads should be laid out for them at the 
expense of the town, and no town rates were to be 
assessed to the Bloods except as above specified. 

We have been accustomed to say that, by this 
agreement the Farms were annexed to, or became 
a part of Concord, and, on the whole, this view is 

1 It was voted, January 27, 1668, *' that all wast lands shall pay 
only 2»— 6*1 for the 100 acres men hold ; by the yeare to publike charges, 
tell the Towne see Cause to alter it." 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 65 

probably correct ; for, in 1702, Josiah Blood and 
Samuel Blood, who lived respectively on Allen's 
Farm and Nowell's Farm, exchanged deeds in which 
they described themselves as '' of Concord." -^ But 
it is to be observed that the agreement made in 
1686 does not in terms provide that the Bloods' 
" peculiar" shall be merged in, and be considered part 
of the territory of the township. And in point of 
fact we know that, down to as late a date as 1744, 
when the Concord selectmen, once in three years, 
issued their notices to the authorities of the ad- 
jacent towns, requiring them to send committees to 
join with committees from Concord, in perambulating 
the town's bounds, the Bloods also were regularly 
warned to appear at the appointed time, for the 
purpose of renewing the bounds between Concord 
and the Farms. 

The new grant to Billerica, in 1656, of land west 
of the Concord River, made it necessary to define 
more exactly Blood's Farms and Concord Village. 
Major Willard's farm of one thousand acres, which 
he gave as dowry to his daughter, Elizabeth Blood, 
by deed dated Feb. 23, 1658, was laid out on the 
northwest of Concord, and on both sides of the 
present boundary between Acton and Carlisle. A 
triangular controversy between Concord, Billerica, 
and Robert Blood, about the boundary line dividing 
this farm from Billerica, arose in 1683, and was 
not settled until 1701. 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 12, f . 725. 
6 



66 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

The following document/ used in the Blood-Bil- 
lerica controversy is interesting as forming a part of 
" the old towne booke," which was partially copied 
in 1664. but was afterwards unfortunately lost. 

''The 21dMay 1660. 
A Comittee. Chosen by the Towne of Concord to lay out the 
Major Willards one thousand acres of land, with the Major 
himselfe Thomas Brooke Robert ffletcher and George Wheeler : 
the dimensions of it as followeth 

1 The first corner begining upon Chelmsford line runing 
southward 170 Rods 

2 The second line Westward 360 Rods 

3. The third line northward meeting with Chelmsford line 
390 Rods. 

4 The fourth line Eastward along Chelmsford line 640 Rods. 

This was don by a mutuall consent of the Major Willard 
and the Comittee Chosen by the Towne : Witness their hands 
hereunto 

James Hosmore Thomas Brooke 

Thomas Browne Robert ffletcher 

and John Howe George Wheeler 

be witnesses hereunto 

setting to our hands I consent hereto witness my 

James Hosmore hand 

Thomas Browne Simon Willard 

John Howe. 

This is a true Coppy taken out of the old towne booke of 
Concord in one of folios 30 as attested 

John fflint towne Clarke 

This copie above written, being Compared w*^^ the Towne 
booke of Concord which was produced & read in Court & Com- 
pared w*^ said book by 

Edward Rawson Sec}^" 

1 Mass. Archives, v. 39, p. 861. For additional details concerning 
this controversy the reader is referred to Hazen's History of Billerica, 
pp. 77-81, and the original papers there referred to. 



CHAPTER IV. 

" No ripple shows Musketaquid, 
Her very current e'en is hid, 
As deepest souls do calmest rest, 
When thoughts are swelling in the breast. 
And she that in the summer's drought 
Doth make a rippling and a rout, 
Sleeps from Nahshawtuck to the Cliff, 
Unruffled by a single skiff." 

Thoreau. 

The Second Division of Lands. — Division of the Town- 
ship INTO Quarters. — Eoads and Bridges. — Bulkeley's 
Farm. — Flint's Farm. — Other Large Allotments. — 
Undivided Land. — Land Transcripts. — Location of 
House Lots. — Peter Bulkeley, Esquire. — Second 
Meeting-house. — Town Pouted. — Mills. — Burying- 
Grounds. 

By the first division of lands, which has already been 
alluded to, a small portion only of the township 
passed into the hands of individual owners and be- 
came private property. House lots were occupied 
in the immediate vicinity of the meeting-house and 
the mill. Large tracts of planting ground, such as 
the Cranefield, lying behind the hills, Brick-kiln 
Field, South Field, and large areas of meadow land, 
such as the Great Meadow, Elm-brook Meadow, Pond 
Meadow, and Town Meadow, were parcelled out in 
the first division, three or four acres being allotted 



68 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

to each proprietor. The bulk of the territory re- 
mained to be divided, and, apparently, the task was 
not an easy one. 

At a meeting of the town held January 2, 1653, 
the following votes were passed, in relation to this 
important matter. 

"A meting of the Towne of Concord the 2^^ of the 11 mo. 
1652 about second devitioues as foloweth, 

Imp'^ it is agreed that 20. acres of land shall be for one Cow 

Comon (of all the land men hold) and two yearling shall goe for 

one grown beast, and one horse for one beast, and 4. sheep for 

one beast. 

I*^ The bounds of the Towne is devided into three parts ; as 

foloweth : only the hogpeen walke is not to be devided ; 

Imp'^ All on the north sid of the great Rivre shall be for 

them, on that sid of the same ; and all on the east sid to Mr 

Bulkelyes,^ 

I* the second part of the devition is on the East sid of the 

aforesid rivre, be3"ond Cranenld to Shawshine corner, and to 

Mr fflints pond to the gutter that comes out thereof, and to the 

goose pond and along the path that comes to the Towne medow 

& to the Towne ; and the psones to Inioye this part are all the 

Inhabitants from Mr farweles ^ to the East end of the Towne, 

also Thomas Brookes is to come in amongst them for two, third 

^ts of his land, and Robert Meriam : Sargent Wheler and 

Georg Meriam to Joyne with them ; 

P the third qpt of [the] devition is from the gutter that 

comes from Mr fflints pond as aforesaid ; to the south rivre & 

betwen the rivres ; and those appoj'nted for that devition, are 

the Rest of the towne not beforementioned. 

It is agreed that if the mair ^^t of any of the Companj^es 
shall agree for the laying out of the devitiones as before exprest 

1 Charles H. Hallett's. 

2 Henry Farwell lived a short distance to the eastward of George 
Heywood's dwelling-house on Lexington Street. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 69 

then the minor pt shall be Compeled to agree there to, but in 
Case the maior ^t shall not agree ; then an^^ pticuler pson shall 
not be hendred of ther wright, but they shall have power to call 
on indeferant man and the Company to whome he belongs 
shall chose one other, or if the}" shall refeuse so to doe, then 
the Townsmen shall choose on man, who w^ith the suerve3'er 
shall indeferantly lay out his or there lands so requiring it, this 
votted. 

It is forther agreed that every ^son shall have som, quan- 
tity of upland adioyning to his medow, where it is in Comon 
except som more then ordenary ocation may hender it, and in 
Case an}' defarance be therein ; it is to be ended by indeferent 
men ; and this is to be pt of there second devition ; 

It is agreed that second devitiones shall not hender, heigh- 
waj^es to menes propriaties that they have in pticolers, but they 
shall be inio3'ed without charge of purchies to be laj^ed out by 
indeferent men ; 

It is agreed that all those that have lat grants of lands given 
them, shall have three acres for one as others have." 

The principal, if not the only, object in view in 
making this division of the township was to facilitate 
the equitable distribution of the rest of the land. 
The process of subdivision went on in the several 
quarters ; but, as usual, property brought with it cares 
and duties, and very soon it was found necessary for 
the town to take further action, for the purpose of 
arranging some details that had not been sufficiently 
considered, and more especially, to apportion the 
burden of expense caused by the obligation to make 
and maintain highways, to build a new bridge over 
the South River near Nashawtuck, and to keep in 
repair two other bridges that spanned the river. 

Accordingly, " after much agitation there about,' ' 



70 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



n 



and "after much wearines about these things,'' it 
was voted, March 8, 1654, 

" to chose nine men thre out of ech querter impowred by the 
Towne to here & end former debat, acording to there best light 
& discresion & Consience ; onlj^ eight of the nine must agree 
to what is determined ; or else nothing to be of force ; this was 
voated the 8. of the first mo. 1654. at a pubhque training, & 
none voatted to the contrarie, but Georg Wheler, Henry Woodies, 
Joshuah Edmonds & William buttrike these doe declare there 
publiqe consent [s2c] in this case, Thomas Stow also oposis ; 
The men Chosen by the Towne to this worke are as foloweth ; 

Simon Willard, Ensine Wheler, Tho. brooke 
Robert, Meriam; Geo. Wheler, Sargn blood 

John Smedly. Tho; batman, Gog He award." 

One may see at a glance that this committee was 
chosen with a due appreciation of the importance of 
the work in hand ; for it was composed of men who 
were foremost in the town's business, by virtue of 
their large estates as well as their integrity and good 
judgment. The vote was passed March 8, 1654, and 
the committee presented a unanimous report of their 
doings on the following day. 

Twenty acres of meadow were reserved for the 
minister " in the hogepen walke about annusnake ; " 
and twenty acres of plow-land in the South Quarter, 
together with a like amount of wood-land in the 
East Quarter, were to be devoted to the same pur- 
pose. Twenty acres of wood-land were reserved 
"for the publique good of the Towne, lying neer 
the old hogepeen, at ech sid of the Townes bounds 
line ; " five acres of pine wood-land west of the 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 71 

North River were appropriated for the use of the 

North Bridge ; and certain persons who were '^ short 

in lands " were to have the deficiency made up to 

them on payment of " 12d. p'' acre, as others have 

don, & 6d. p'^ acre if the Towne consent thereto." 

They recognize the earher division of the town 

into three parts, which they call the North, East, 

and South Quarters respectively, and define them 

thus : — 

*' The limits of ech querter as foloweth, 
I* the north querter b}^ there familyes, are from the north part 
of the training place to the great Rivre ^ & all on to the north 
sid thereof. 

I* the Easte querter by there familyes, are from Henrj^ farweles 
all Eastwards with Thomas Brooke, Ensign Wheler, Robert 
Meriam, Georg Meriam, John Adomes Richerd Rise.'^ 
P the south querter b}' there familyes are all one the south & 
south weste sid of the mill brooke except those before acsprest, 
with Luke potter, Georg Heaward, Mihell Wood & Thomas 
Dane." ^ 

Thus it appears that the North Quarter comprised 
all the land on the north side of the great river and 
west of the Assabet, and extended to the eastward 

1 This term was applied to the Concord River below Egg Rock. 
Musquetaquid, the Indian name of the river, is said to have signified 
" grass-grown.^^ 

2 John Adams lived on the Almshouse lot; Richard Rice, on the 
corner opposite the house now occupied by William Buttrick. 

3 Thomas Dane's house stood somewhere between the house lately 
owned and occupied by Joel W. Walcott and the house of Benjamin 
Tohnan. 

The location of the first house-lots of George Hayward and Michael 
Wood I have been unable to fix ; but am inclined to believe that they 
were on the north and west sides of the Common. 



72 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

of the great river as far as the northerly end of 
our Common. 

The East Quarter inckided the territory east of 
the great river and north of the Mill Brook to the 
town limits. It also extended southward of the line 
of the Mill Brook, and seems to have been bounded 
in this direction by a line running south to Goose 
Pond, and thence easterly to Flint's Pond and the 
town bounds. " The East Quarter line " is referred 
to in descriptions of land, and must at some time 
have been definitely fixed, but it is difficult now to 
determine its location. 

The South Quarter, also called the Southwest or 
West Quarter, consisted of the territory bounded on 
the north by the Mill Brook and the North River, on 
the east by the East Quarter line, on the south and 
southwest by the bounds of Watertown and Sud- 
bury, and on the west by the North River. 

The following record of the division of wood to 
the dwellers in the South or West Quarter will afford 
an example of the methods adopted. The date in 
the record, "17*^ . . 52," is obscure, but the division 
was probably made between January and March, 
1653. 

" The devisions are to witt from the weast end of the 
towne meadow ; runinge b}^ a hollow to Wallden pond, & to 
crose the pond to the tope of the Roekj^e hill,^ & one the south 
S3'de of a swompj^e meadow, called Dongye liole,^ & so alonge 

^ In Lincoln, a short distance north of the Fitchburg railroad. 

2 This name was applied in several instances to swampy lands shut 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 73 

the south syde of that valy of wood that runes frome the afor- 
sayd ; hole to faier haven, as allso to the south sj^de, & south 
end, of a $>cell of wood : called the Short swompe & so to 
rune to the River, & for this Devisione there are twellue ^sons 
to take to the east syde : & south syde of this devisione & there 
are seaven to take to the weast s^de, which makes neer an 
equall ;pportione as apeers, in both ^portions after, & this is 
to be vnderstood, that this first devisione of wood, the limits 
reach but to the weast end of M'^ fflints pond meadow & so to 
the Riever : homeward within these limitts." 

The persons who received land by this division 
were William Wood, George Wheeler, George Hay- 
ward, Luke Potter, Thomas Brooke, John Scotch- 
ford,^ Samuel Stratton, Obadiah Wheeler, John 
Bellows, Nathaniel Billings, Jr., Thomas Dane, 
William Wheeler, John Miles, James Hosmer, Si- 
mon Willard, Joshua Edmonds, Widow [of Thomas ?] 
Barrett, William Buss, and Thomas Dakin. 

But the territorial divisions were not strictly 
identical with the divisions of the townspeople by 
their dwelling places and families ; for Kobert 
Meriam, George Meriam, Thomas Brooke, Ensign 
Wheeler, John Adams, and Eichard Rice, all of 
whom lived on Walden street and within the terri- 
torial limits of the South Quarter, were included in 
the company of the East Quarter. And Luke Potter, 
who lived on the east side of Hey wood street, and 

in by hills. A parcel of land in Nine- Acre Corner is still called 
*' Dunge-hole." The valley mentioned above may now easily be seen 
from the Fitchburg railroad, the wood having been recently cut off. 
^ Almost invariably written by himself Scocthford. 



74 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. 

between Lexington street and the Mill Brook ; 
Thomas Dane, whose house lot fronted the Com- 
mon, together with George Hay ward and Michael 
Wood, were joined with the South Quarter. 

The company of each Quarter met at the house of 
a member, and each one brought in a list of his first 
division land upon which he claimed second division, 
and submitted a " proposition" for particular parcels 
that he desired to own, claiming three new acres for 
every one that he already possessed. The propo- 
sitions were, with some exceptions, granted, and the 
allotments thus made were recorded by the Quarter 
clerk, some of them being transferred at a later day 
to the town records. 

The report of the nine men disposes of matters 
relating to highways and bridges as follows : — 

"The devitiones of the heighwaies are as foloweth ; The 
north querter are to keepe and maintaine all there highwa3'es, 
and bridges over the great Rivre in there querter and in Respecte 
of there gretness of Chorg there about, and in Regerd of the 
ease of the East querter, above the Rest in there highwaj-es, 
the}^ are to alow the north querter three pound ; 
I*^ the East querter are to keepe & maintaine all there heigh- 
wa3^es, and the bredg ouer the north Rivre [at Derby's] and the 
heighway there to the heighland by Estimation 3. or 4. rods 
where the Comisoners of Concord and lanchester [Lancaster] 
being chosen by there Townes to lay out there heighwaj^es did 
appoint it ; 

I*^ the south querter are to keepe & maintaine all there heigh- 
wayes & bridges ouer the south Rivre, except that at the north 
Rivre before exspresed that is laied on the Easte querter the 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 75 



south Rivr bridg [at Kurd's] being to be set, where the aforesaid 
Comisoners appointed it as there agreement declares ; 

and all these heighwajes & bridgs are to be maintained 
forever by the querters on whom they are now Cast, and it is 
forther concluded that if any damiag shall com to the Towne, 
by the neglect of any part of the Towne in any part of there 
wayes that part of the Towne, so niglecting ether bridgs or 
wayes, shall beare ther damiag and secuer the Rest of the 
Towne." 

The highways are more particularly defined as 
follows : — ■ 

" The heigh wayes are as folow ; the north querter are to make 
& maintaine all the heighwaj'es from the training place to the 
great Rivre with the bridg, and all that is to be done the north 
sid thereof; 

P the East querter are to make & maintaine, all the heigh- 
wayes from Obadiah Whelers house, allong to the ba}' wards and 
all the heighwayes at the East end of the Towne, with what heigh- 
wayes shall fall in that querter with the north bridg rivr ^ and the 
wa}' at the end thereof on the farther sid, 3. or 4. Rods. 
P the south querter are to make & maintaine all there heigh- 
wayes one the south sid of the mill brooke, with Sudbur}^ wayes 
as also the bridg over the south Rivr, & the wa3-es beyond 
towards the north Rivr, untell it come to the north Rivr, before 
laid on the East querter." 

Officers are provided for, as follows : — 

"We doe chose overseeres in ech querter for the faithfuU 
P'formance of there duty in that case in all i^ticolers so far as 
may condeuce for the profit & good of there said querters, as 
to make Rats to pa}^ workemen & to see that all psones come in 
sesonabl time & keep them to there bisines faithfully & keep 
accounts & so see the worke suffisintly don ; and thej' are im- 
poured to call fitt men & Cattle in there querter to the worke & 

^ North River Bridge. 



76 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

pay them there wages ; and if any shall refevse to attend, these 
nesery workes ; there names shall be Returned to the Selectmen 
of the Towne, who shall Impose findes acording to law vpon all 
such ofendares in that case ; also the overseeres as aforesaid 
shall keep an exact account of there owne time, expended, and 
shall have suffisient sattisfaction for the same." 

Timothy Wheeler and William Hartwell were 
made overseers of the East Quarter ; for the North 
Quarter, John Smedlj and Thomas Bateman ; and 
in the South Quarter, George \¥heeler, James Hos- 
mer, George Hayward, and William Buss. 

It was further decided that in making rates the 
'^ East end " should be assessed two pence in the 
pound, " for all menes estate acording as Mr. 
Bulkelys last Rate was mad ; " the North Quarter the 
same ; but the South Quarter, four pence in the 
pound. 

The immunity from public rates, as distinguished 
from those that were laid for town purposes, had long 
since ceased, and besides the colony rate and the 
support of the minister, the expenses of highways 
and bridges were increasing at an alarming pace, by 
reason of the general development of the country 
and the need of better means of communication 
between settlements, and between widely separated 
portions of the same township. 

In response to a petition for relief from the burden 
of contributing to the support of so many bridges, 
a committee appointed by the General Court, and 
another representing the county of Middlesex, met 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 77 

together and settled this matter of county bridges, 
April 17, 1660. Their decision increased the amount 
of a former allowance to Concord by the sum of £10, 
making the whole £30, and it was ordered that the 
town should be ^^free from charges to all bridges 
extant, save theire own bridges." The committees 
say further : — 

' ' The three bridgs they foot, and plead upon ; are for there 
owne proper specal and perticuler conscernment, for there saw 
mill ; Iron workes & other occationes and not, necessary for the 
Coiinty or Country and may at there pleasur be diserted." 

The petition was as follows : — 

"To the Right Wor" the Governor Deput}^ and Assistants 
w*^ the rest of the Members of the hono'^'i General! Co^*' mett at 
Boston OctoV 18^!} 1659 the humble Petition & Declaration of 
the Inhabitants of the Towne of Concord, humbly sheweth, that 
Whereas there was an order made by the honored Court that 
each count}^ should maintej'ne the bridges w*^ in it that are 
County bridges, And we understand that there was something 
since concluded in the Court concerning the severall Townes in 
this County of Middlesex bearing the charges of the bridges 
within their bounds except M3'stick Bridge, & that which is 
betweene Billerecay and Chelmsford, which wee yo*^ petitioners 
here never consented unto and therefore have divers times made 
o'^ complaint to our County Co"^* concerning it, but not being 
there relieved butt referred b}^ them to the consideration of this 
honored Court now therefore humbly Intreat that our Condition 
in this respect may be seriousW weighed, and that wee ma}' have 
such releife as this present Court shall in their wisedom judge 
just & Equall for us to receive. And that the honord Court 
may the better discerne what the charge hath beene & is like 
to be about the County bridges in o'^ Towne, bee pleased hereby 
to understand that the length of the Arch-worke of these bridges 
over the Rivers which at present is & hereafter must be is about 



78 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

sixt}^ rods, besides all the other charge about them, & severall 
other smaller bridges which frequently need repaires : For ease 
in the charge whereof we humbly crave yo^ helpe. And 3*0^ 
petitioners shall pray for the gracious presence of the Lord with 
you in all yo^ weighty occasions.^ 

Edward Bulkely. 
Timothy Wheeler 
Robert ffletcher 
George Wheeler 
Willm Hartwell. 

The three bridges maintained by the town at this 
time were situated, one on the South River at Henry 
Woodis's mansion, another on the great river at 
Buttrick's/ and the third on the North River, at 
what is now the Derby place. 

The last-named bridge was built to facilitate 
communication with Lancaster and other western 
settlements, but was probably not a very elaborate 
structure, for in 1663, complaints were made of its 
condition, which were renewed in 1666. In that 
year it was carried away by the flood, and the 

1 Mass. Archives, v. 121, p. 32. 

'^ Probably it will never be ascertained whether the first bridge 
was at Nashawtuck or at Buttrick's. The first bridge over the South 
River is said to have been placed a short distance below the bend in 
the stream against Mr. Kurd's land, a location afterwards aban- 
doned for the present one, in order to obtain a more direct course for 
the road to Lancaster. The North Bridge stood until 1793 on the spot 
now occupied by the Battle Bridge, — if one may suggest a name for 
the structure that gives access to the statue of the INIinute-Man. Un- 
doubtedly, at both of these places, houses were built very early on the 
further bank, but there is reason to believe that at Buttrick's the river 
was at first forded at a shallow place just below the mouth of the Mill 
Brook. The North River was passed by fording at the Hosmer place, 
before the bridge was built. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 79 

comity treasurer paid to the constables of Con- 
cord £20 "which wer Alowed them by the Court 
towards ther Bridges." ^ 

The Mill Brook was crossed by Potter's Bridge ^ 
(on Heywood Street), and by Fox's Bridge (near 
Wayside). On the Sudbury Road, the remains of 
the Swamp Bridge, of which, with the causeway 
leading to it, a dam was made in 1691 by Jonathan 
Prescott and Joshua Wheeler, are still visible on land 
of Arthur G. Fuller, a short distance to the southeast 
of Walden Pond. Farther on, towards Sudbury and 
Watertown, bridges w^ere built at Half-way Brook ^ 
and at Beaver Dam; and several others of minor 
importance were scattered about the town, spanning 
the brooks and rivulets that ran in every direction. 

The Indian paths were only a foot broad,* and it 
would seem that ways of moderate width might 
have been sufficient for the English settlers, who 
never travelled except on foot or on horseback ; but 
the fathers always had hopes of greater things in 
the future, and the same record that fixed the site 
of the first meeting-house informs us also, that it was 
" ordered that the highway under the hill therough 
the Towne is to be left foure Bodes broad.'* 



^ County Court Records. 

2 In the description of Luke Potter's land (1666) this is spoken 
of as " the bridge caled the fort bridge; " but it was known for a long 
time afterwards as Potter's Bridge. 

3 So-called because it was estimated to be half way between Con- 
cord and Sudbury. 

* Johnson. 



80 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

This was the first and most important highway, 
afterwards extended and called the Bay Road, as 
being an outlet to Cambridge Farms, Charlestown, 
and Boston. Its width varied from four rods to ten 
rods, but early in the next century it was reduced 
within limits that accorded more nearly with the 
extent and needs of travel. 

Leading from the Bay Road to the northeast, were 
the Billerica Road, which was laid out before 1660,^ 
and the highway to Woburn, which was formally 
laid out between that town and Concord in 1665 
by committees representing the two towns. 

A highway from Watertown to Concord was laid 
out in 1638,^ and the road to Sudbury leading past 
Walden Pond was in existence in 1648. The course 
of the most ancient road leading to Watertown and 
Sudbury was by the lane which runs from Walden 
Street through the land of George Everett, thence 
through the woods to the southward of Walden Pond, 
where it crossed the ravine, and emerged from the 
woods at the James Baker place, in Lincoln. The 
road which leads past the Almshouse, stopped at the 
ditch at the end of the house-lots, and a way that 
was discontinued long ago gave access to Samuel 
Stratton's house-lot from the Bay Road, at a point 
near the Staples place. 

The way still known as the " Old Marlborough 
Road '' is very ancient, and may be easily followed. 

1 Hazen, p. 89; County Court Records, April 6, 1658. 
^ Watertown Records. See Bond, p. 997. 



CONCORD IN- THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 81 

The " Old Groton Road/' leading over the North 
Bridge, was not formally laid out until 1699, but the 
action then taken was in great part a relocation and 
straightening of the old ways and paths already 
existing in the North Quarter. 

The earhest way from the South Bridge to the 
Derby place ran in a curved line, between Nashaw- 
tuck Hill and the house of Charles H. Hurd, to the 
old Colburn house-lot, and then turning more to 
the westward, reached the Hosmers', and crossed the 
river by a ford-way near the railroad bridge. When, 
however, a bridge was thrown over the river, where 
it is now crossed, at this point, the commmonly trav- 
elled way to and from the town was by the John 
Hosmer place. 

There were " driftways " to Fairhaven and " the 
Rocks ; " and ways were laid out to " Fifty-Acre 
Meadow," "the Hog Pens," "Virginia," ^' Mento," 
"Scotland," "Shawshine Corner," " Dunsdell," "the 
corner adjoining Watertown," " Mr. Flint's Farm," 
"the Nine Acres," soon called "Nine-Acre Corner," 
and other places within the town limits. 

A large number of private ways, many of which 
still exist, were laid out for the accommodation of 
owners of land, — such as the way to the Great 
Meadow, and the ways into the Great Common 
Fields lying east of Lexington Street, one entering 
near the house of Emeline E. Barrett, on Monument 
Street, another at Merriam's Corner. 

In the second division of lands, Rev. Peter Bulkeley 

6 



82 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

received a tract of seven hundred and fifty acres 
that included the Codman place in Lincoln, and to 
Thomas Flint were assigned a like number of acres 
extending from Flint's Pond to Beaver Pond and 
the town bounds, comprising what is now the centre 
of Lincoln. Flint's Farm was owned and occupied 
for almost a century by descendants of Thomas Flint 
and their tenants. These were the largest single 
tracts granted to any individual. 

The deposition of Samuel and Joseph Fletcher, 
taken in 1734, states that in 1683 and 1684 " there 
were three separate Families that lived upon a Farm 
formerly called Buckley's Farm, afterwards called 
Prout's farm, but is now reputed to be the estate of 
Charles Chambers, of Charlestown, Esq : the said 
Farm lyeth upon and in the southerly part of the 
Town of Concord, &c." The persons named as 
residents were Thomas Skinner, Thomas Pratt, and 
Ephraim Roper.^ 

Peter Bulkeley, of London, described as an apoth- 
ecary and son of the first Peter, sold this farm to 
Timothy Prout in 1671, for the sum of £45, and 
Edward Bulkeley, as attorney of his brother, gave 
" full possession & delivery of Seising by turfe and 
twigg." ^ 

James Blood, father and son, received as part of 
their second division five hundred acres in one 
parcel, extending southward from the town line. 
Henry Woodis and Thomas Stow jointly owned a 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 34, f. 494. 2 md,^ l. 8, f. 328. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 83 

tract of six hundred and sixtj-six acres, situated 
south of Fairhaven and east of the river, which was 
sold in 1660 to Thomas Goble and Daniel Dane for 
£72, and was afterwards occupied by them.^ 

Large tracts were held for a long time afterwards 
by the Quarters, or by joint proprietors, in common 
and undivided ; as for instance, the " Great Fields " 
adjoining the Great Meadow ; and the " Twenty 
Score," which extended to the southward from 
Bateman's Pond^ and contained, as the name 
would imply, four hundred acres, and many other 
parcels besides, in various parts of the town. 

It subsequently appeared that there were a few 
scattered parcels of common land that, for one rea- 
son or another, were not granted by the town at this 
time, but were disposed of at a much later day.^ 

1 See deeds in the town records. 

2 Named for Thomas Bateman, who owned land adjoining the 
pond. 

3 In the town records, under date of May 22, 1732, may be found 
the report of John Hunt, Joseph Lee, and Nathaniel Ball, who were 
chosen a committee to " Lay out to the persons that had Land to take 
up in the old Town of Concord." They found that some small quan- 
tities of land were due to the respective heirs of six of the early plant- 
ers, and grants were voted accordingly. From a report made May 23, 
1734, by the same committee, acting under instructions " to make 
search into the Common Land and Report thereon," it appears that 
they found yet remaining six pieces of common land, which were sur- 
veyed by Stephen Hosmer, and contained altogether two hundred and 
twenty-six acres and a few rods. Among the parcels of ungranted 
land then discovered was " a small Island in the crotch of the River 
below Mr Woodises Rock where the Rivers meet," estimated at a 
quarter of an acre ; also a strip measuring about three-fourths of an 
acre, extending up the river from where the Minute-Man stands, 
and lying between the river and the old causeway. 



84 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Nine years afterwards, in. 1664, the town decided 
to buy a new record book, and that " what is in the 
old booke that is vesefull; shall be trancescribed 
into the new ; with all lands which men now hold 
as there proper wright in ther hands now being." 
The " latter grants " to particular persons had been 
" written in paper bookes (as granted) and not re- 
corded in a register booke." Therefore, it was voted 
that every one should draw up a " trancescripe " of 
all the lands that he then owned ; which statement, 
after being read and approved at a meeting of his 
Quarter, should be signed by the Quarter clerk and 
recorded by the " clarke of the Towne records," 
as approved by the Town. 

The recorded descriptions of land which were 
brought in under this regulation extend from 1664 
to 1673 inclusive, but are chiefly confined to the 
years 1666, 1668, and 1673 ; and a careful compar- 
ison of these descriptions with each other and with 
other ancient records, affords a means of construc- 
ting, with a fair degree of accuracy, a map of the 
town, showing the location of the house-lots at the 
time included between the dates given above. 

Concord was no longer a small, compact settlement; 
for the dwellings now extended eastward, on the line 
of the great road, to Cambridge bounds, a few were 
located on the road to Billerica, and others on the 
further side of the rivers, at the north and west. 

After remaining for a short time with his friends 
near the centre, James Hosmer had moved westward 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 85 

to his farm between the rivers, — a part of which is 
now occupied by his descendant, Abel Hosmer, — 
where for a time he was the advanced guard of 
civihzation in the colony. His son James, who was 
killed by the Indians, at Sudbury in 1675, lived a 
little to the southward, on land adjoining his father's 
farm. 

George Hayward had sold his house, barn, and 
land near the mill-pond to Mr. Bulkeley, and had 
built a house and corn-mill at the southwest, where 
his descendant still lives.^ 

John Heywood had bought Thomas Dakin's house 
and barn, and the latter was living on the Lancaster 
Eoad beyond the South Eiver. Near him, on the 
same road, was Michael Wood, and farther on, at 
Brook Meadow, were Obadiah Wheeler and Edmund 
Wigly. 

Henry Woodis lived on the Willard estate, which 
he bought of Captain Thomas Marshall. To the 
westward of him was Francis Dudley (on the Col- 
burn place), and, on the south, John Dakin. 

Richard Rice, dissatisfied with his small house-lot 
and orchard near the centre, had set up his house- 
hold gods anew on his second-division land, at " the 
east end," close to the town line. 

Richard Temple was bringing up a numerous 

1 George Hayward, Senior, was accidentally drowned, March, 1671. 
The jury of inquest found, that he was " overthrowne by the strength 
of the streame and so drownded in the river by the iron workes as he 
was returning to goe home after he had bien healping william ffrizell 
over the river in a Cannoe." 



86 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

progeny at his mill on Spencer Brook, and west- 
ward of him were Francis Barker and his son John. 

Nehemiah Hunt, son of William and lord of Punk- 
atassett, lived on the estate bought by his father of 
Rev. Peter Bulkeley, and now owned and occupied 
by his descendant William H. Hunt. 

Tradition places the house of Rev. Peter Bulkeley 
on the lot now owned and occupied by Charles H. 
Hallett, on Lowell Street. Thomas Dane owned a 
house-lot of six acres extending from the burial-hill 
to the mill-pond. Luke Potter's house-lot consisted 
of six and one half acres on both sides of Heywood 
Street (then known as " Potter's Lane "), including 
the land last occupied by Charles Bowers, and ex- 
tendino^ across Lexinscton Street. 

Going eastward from this point by the Bay Road, 
the house-lots came in the following order, occupy- 
ing both sides of the road and extending to the 
Mill Brook, — John Farewell, twelve acres, Thomas 
Wheeler, Senior, thirteen acres, and Moses Wheat, 
sixteen acres (the Staples place). East of Wheat, 
on the north side of the road, was the house-lot of 
William Baker, comprising seven acres. Then, 
running to the brook, as before, came the lot of 
Nathaniel Stow, fifteen acres, bought of William 
Fletcher in 1656, and a lot owned by Peter 
Bulkeley, Esquire. 

Next to Bulkeley was Thomas Burgess, ten acres; 
then came Francis Fletcher, eight acres, Edward 
Wright, ten acres, Eliphalet Fox, eight acres, Na- 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 87 



thaniel Ball;, thirteen acres, William Hartwell, nine 
acres, John Hartwell, ten acres, and William Taylor, 
eight and three quarters acres. 

Still farther eastward were Caleb and Joshua 
Brooke, Christopher Woolley and Kichard Rice. 

John Meriam's house-lot consisted of an acre and 
one half, situated in the corner made by the Bay 
Road on the south and the Billerica Road on the 
west. Joseph Dane and Thomas Pellet occupied 
one homestead on the Billerica Road. 

South of the mill-pond, house-lots were laid out 
between the corner on Main Street and the Alms- 
house, — running to the brook or pond on the north, 
and extending towards the southwest, about as far 
as Thoreau Street. On the Hastings corner, oppo- 
site the Bank, was George Wheeler with eleven 
acres; and then came Joshua Wheeler, with four- 
teen acres, Robert Meriam, twenty-six acres (Trin- 
itarian Church), John Wheeler, ten acres and one 
half ^ (Nathan B. Stow's), Lieutenant Joseph Wheeler, 
twenty acres (George Everett's), George Merriam, 
thirty acres (the Bartlett place), Nathaniel Billings, 
six acres (Nathan Derby's), and Samuel Stratton, 
twenty-four acres ^ (Almshouse). 

On and near Main Street, James Smedly's eigh- 
teen and one half acres lay north of, and adjacent to 
the burying-ground. Going westward, in the order 

1 Bought of Thomas Brooke, 1664. Middlesex Deeds, L. 3. f. 169. 

2 Bought of John and Thomas Adams, 1654. Middlesex Deeds, 
L. 1. ff. 167, 192. 



88 CONCOKD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

named were John Heywood, four acres (next to tlie 
burying- ground), William Buss, seven acres/ Edward 
Bulkeley, eleven acres, John Miles, three acres ; and 
on the south side of the way, John Scotchford, nine 
acres. 

On Monument Street, going north, we find, on the 
west side of the way, Humphrey Barrett occupying 
a house-lot of twelve acres (D. Goodwin Lang's); 
John Jones, eight acres (Sarah B. Prescott's) ; 
John Smedly, ten acres (John S. Keyes's) ; James 
Blood, father and son, fourteen acres (Elizabeth B. 
Kipley's). 

Over the river, were Boaz Browne (Eli Dakin's), 
Samuel Hunt (George Keyes's), Thomas Browne 
(Edwin S. Barrett's), Thomas Bateman (the Edmund 
Hosmer place), William Buttrick (Joseph Derby's), 
John Flint (Lewis Flint's). 

Dorothy, widow of John Heald, occupied a house- 
lot of seven acres where the heirs of Stedman 
Buttrick now live, and her son John had settled 
a little farther northward. Baptist Smedly lived 

^ Heywood and Buss bound their respective house-lots on the south 
by the highway, and Buss bounds his lot on the west "by Mr Ed- 
ward Bulkely and the highway." The Bulkeley lot was bounded 
*' north with land of William Buss, east with the highway, south with 
the highway &c." It would seem therefore, that the road which once 
ran to the northward of the burying-ground on Main Street, after tak- 
ing a westerly direction on the hard land, must have turned southward 
between the house-lots of Mr. Bulkeley and William Buss at a point 
near the Prichard place, and proceeded thence by a course similar to 
that of Sudbury Street, but making a bend farther on^ in order to 
reach the South Bridge. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 89 

near Franklin Dakin's, and Simon Davis near Abel 
D. Clark's. 

It may be remarked that some names which occur 
frequently in later years are absent from this list. 
Lee, Minot, Prescott, Whittemore, and Chandler, had 
not yet appeared. Several owners of large estates 
failed to make any return, — among them, Peter 
Bulkeley, Esq., Simon Davis, John Hoar, Edward 
Wright, Captain Timothy Wheeler, Thomas Burgess, 
and Christopher Woolley. 

Captain Wheeler lived in the house built by Eev. 
Peter Bulkeley, and, with George Wheeler, as joint 
owner, was in possession of most of the real estate 
left by Mr. Bulkeley,^ but not including the farm at 
the southeast, which soon passed into other hands. 
The house-lot and mill-lot comprised thirty-one acres, 
lying on both sides of the Mill Brook. If Captain 
Wheeler did not own the mill privilege at this time 
(1666), he acquired it very soon afterwards. 

John Hoar owned upwards of three hundred acres 
lying beyond the North River, in the west part of 
the town, and including land now owned by the 
Commonwealth. The bulk of this he conveyed, in 
1671 or 1672, to Edward Wright, in exchange for 
an estate in the East Quarter.^ 

1 See deed of Grace Bulkeley to Timothy Wheeler and George 
Wheeler, September 30, 1663. Middlesex Deeds, L. 3, f. 128. 

2 Part of the consideration received by Hoar was " all the right 
title & interest w^li Edward AVright of Concord aforesaid husbandman 
hath or should have in and to certain houses lands & hereditaments 
&c in the Lordship of Castle Browmick (?) in the Coun[ty] of W^ar- 



90 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Peter Bulkeley, called "Esquire," was the most 
distinguished of Concord men in the later colonial 
days. He was the son of Eev. Edward Bulkeley, 
was born January 3, 1641, graduated at Harvard 
College in 1660, married Rebecca, daughter of Jo- 
seph Wheeler, and entered very early upon a public 
career. 

Graduate of the college, and scion of a well-known 
and highly respected family, he was received without 
hesitation into the ranks of the colonial aristocracy. 
When speaker of the House of Deputies, he was 
chosen to go to England with Mr. Stoughton, as 
agent for the colony in the matter of the Maine 
controversy. The mission was a failure, but he rose 
quickly to be an assistant, and commissioner for the 
United Colonies ; and in 1685, upon the dissolution 
of the old charter, and his failure to be re-elected 
assistant, he became a member of Dudley's Council. 

High military offtces were his, and in fact his 
whole life, which was comparatively short, seems to 
have been filled with honors, and devoted to the 
public service. But, unfortunately, by his associa- 
tions with members of the aristocratic governing 

wick in the Kingdom of England by virtue of a deed of gift made by 
Edward Wright of Castle Browmick aforesaid to feoffees in trust for 
the use of Francis Wright sonn and heyre apparent of the said Edward 
Wright and of Mary Wiggin, daughter of Jno: AViggin of Aldridge 
in the Count[y] of Stafford (before the solemnizing of a marriage 
between the said Francis and the said Mary) & to their heyres &c the 
said deed of gift being now in the hands of mee the said John Hoare, 
and beareth date the 27tii day of June in the 10*^ year of King James 
[1613] &c." See Middlesex Deeds, L. 4, f. 409. 



CONCORD IX THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 91 

class he became estranged from the simple country 
folk among whom his childhood was spent, and was 
induced to support the assumptions of the court 
party rather than the just claims of the people. 
The rushing tide of events cast him aside, as one 
for whom there was no place in the new order of 
things, and retiring to his country home, he died, 
May 24, 1688, under fifty years of age, after a pro- 
tracted illness, and leaving an insolvent estate.^ 
According to the historian Hutchinson,^ '^ it was said 
by those who charged Bulkley with too great com- 
pliance with court measures, that his sun set in a 
cloud. He died of melancholy." 

At the time of his death he lived " next y® mill- 
pond " (perhaps where Dr. Barrett now lives), but 
owned a farm called " Brook Meadow," lying be- 
yond the South River, with a house and barn on 
it, and a part or the whole of the Iron Works. The 
farm, comprising forty-two acres, was sold to Stephen 
Hosmer. 

An increased population, and the hope that the 
plantation had now weathered the storms that threat- 
ened its earlier existence, combined to urge upon 
the people the need of a more commodious and bet- 
ter constructed building in which to meet on Sundays 
for worship, and on week-days for lecture or the 
transaction of town business. Accordingly, at a town 
meeting held January 27, 1668, Captain Timothy 
Wheeler, Joseph Wheeler, and John Smedly, were 

1 Hutchinson, i. 314. 2 History, ii. 123. 



92 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



chosen a committee " to make barganes with worke- 
men, to erecte & buld & finies a new metting house ; " 
and in 1672, as we have already seen,^ the selectmen 
were instructed to examine and report whether the 
contract had been fulfilled, and if so, to adopt meas- 
ures to keep out the water of the mill-pond, which 
was always encroaching upon the upland of the 
Common and wearino; it away.^ 

The new house was built on the Common, not far 
from the spot occupied by the present building, and 
exhibited the same style of architecture as the old 
meeting-house at Hingham, built in 1681, which had 
a roof of pyramidal shape, with dormer windows, and 
was crowned with a belfry. The bell-rope hung 
down to the centre of the floor, and the sexton stood 
midway between the main entrance and the pulpit 
when he rang the bell to call the people together.^ 
In the earlier times the people were accustomed to 
assemble at the sound of the drum.* 

1 Ante, p. 19. 

2 In 1747, the town sold to Ephraim Jones the TVright Tavern lot, 
described as " a part of the broken Ground in said Town between the 
Training Field and the Wast Water (so called) ... to be improved 
in such a way and manner as to prevent the Training field from wast- 
ing away." Captain Jones paid the town £30, and also gave an obli- 
gation " to fill up a part of the remaining broken Ground as is marked 
out and agreed upon." Middlesex Deeds, L. 89, f. 173. 

^ Palfrey, ii. 58, note. 

* All meetings for town purposes were held in the meeting-house 
until a third one was built, in 1712, after which time, for ten years, 
" the old meeting-house " was devoted to town meetings and the ses- 
sions of the courts, and the town bell was suffered to remain in its turret. 

In 1719, however, the town voted to build a new house "for the 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 93 



The town pound ^ stood in the southeasterly corner 
of the Common, next to the Thayer lot. Its loca- 
tion is fixed by the description in the town records of 
Thomas Dane's land, and by tracing the title of the 
Thayer lot, to which the parcel hereafter mentioned 
as granted to Eleazer Flagg was subsequently added. 
It appears from the town records of March 7, 1692, 
that 

"Eliazer Flagge of sd town did Request of the towne a 
peese of Grownd near to the meting house y^ bredth of y^ 
pownd all between the pownd & y^ mill Brook ajoining to y® 

Courts and Town meetings," to be thirty-four feet long, twenty-six 
feet wide, and not less than fourteen feet nor more than sixteen feet 
between joints. In the following year it was voted that the old meet- 
ing-house might be " Improved by the Committee towards the building 
of the New Town house either by pulling of it down or selling of the 
same according to their discression. " At the same time they were 
authorized " to set the [new] house where they shall Judge it most 
Convenient," and they selected a spot adjoining the Common and near 
the easterly side of the old school-house lot. In 1722 the first town 
meeting was held in the new building, which was standing in 1775 ; 
and although set afire on the 19th of April in that year, it was pre- 
served until the building of the first Court House, on the lot now 
occupied by the building of the Middlesex Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company. The weather-vane, bearing the date " 1673," that stood 
on the second meeting-house, and afterwards on the Court House, has 
been preserved, and is in the possession of Louis A. Surette. A fac- 
simile may be seen in the Concord Free Public Library. 

^ The vote of Groton in 1666 about the building of a pound will 
perhaps serve to give us an idea of what this inclosure was like: 
*' The said pound is to be made thirty feet square, six sufficient rails 
in height, not exceeding ten feet in length, the rails are two of them 
to be pinned at each end, in every length; they [the builders] are to 
make the gate, and to find the irons, and to hang the said gate, with a 
lock & key for the said gate for the use of the town, for the aforesaid 
£2,, 10s. The place to be set up is near the meeting-house." Butler's 
History of Groton, p. 41. 



94 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

land y* was formerly Thomas Danes, and the Inhabitants did 
then freely Give the sa3'd litle plott of Ground unto the sayd 
Eliazer Flagge to set his tan pits upon it as his own land." 

This may account for the irregular line of the 
Common at this corner.^ 

Inferior only to the meeting-house in the estima- 
tion of the planters was " the town mill/' placed in 
the middle of the settlement and built by the rev- 
erend pastor,^ in accordance with the terms of an 
agreement entered into with the inhabitants, who 
granted Mr. Bulkeley, besides other lands, a tract of 
thirty-one acres upon which his house and mill stood, 
and lying between the mill-pond and the river. 
They gave him, also, the right to raise the water to 
a perpendicular height of four feet ten inches from 
the bottom of the mill-trough, and the privilege of 
digging on the Commons for clay and sand to be 
used in making repairs. 

It is not supposed that Mr. Bulkeley was directly 
concerned in the management of the mill, for, in 
1639, William Fuller,^' " w^^ kept the mill at Con- 
cord," was fined <£3 "for grosse abuse in overtoal- 

^ The parcel granted as above set forth, I judge to be identical with 
that sold by Flagg to William Clark for 28s., July 5, 1717 (Middlesex 
Deeds, L. 28, f. 255), and described as "one half quarter of an 
acre more or less bounded south upon the mill Brook East upon Land 
of said William Clark on every other side upon the Pound Meeting 
house Green or Common Land." 

2 A deed of William Buss to Grace Bulkeley, dated May 4, 1668, 
(Middlesex Deeds L. 3, f. 264) recites " the purchase of the towne 
milue house in Concord, built by the aforesaid M^ Peter Bulkely.'* 

3 Mass. Kecords, i. 267. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 95 

ing." In 1665 it was kept by William Buss, who 
was warned by the constable to answer " his want 
of scales & weights in his mill." ^ A little later 
it passed into the ownership of Captain Timothy 
Wheeler, who willed it to his daughter Rebecca 
Minott ; and her husband, James Minott, worked it 
for many years. 

The waters of the Mill Brook, augmented by a 
ditch leading from the westerly end of Flint's Pond, 
were stemmed at the place still known as the "Mill- 
dam," and formed a pond between Walden street and- 
the Common. The old ditch that first conducted 
Flint's Pond water through our village was easily 
identified in 1874, and the town water-pipe is laid 
in it for some distance. 

As early as 1664, George Hayward had built a 
saw-mill, to which he subsequently added a corn-mill, 
in the southwest part of the town, at what is still 
known as Havward's Mills. Ebenezer Prout built a 
mill on the outlet of Beaver Pond, by reason of 
which the place was long afterwards known by the 
name of " Prout's Folly." 

Other saw-mills were soon put up in various parts 
of the township : one by Edward Wright, where the 
Pail Factory now is ; another by Richard Temple, on 
Spencer Brook; and others at the east and north, 
wherever sufficient water-power could be obtained, 
to assist the lumber-men who were bent on sub- 
duing the grandeur of primeval growths and divert- 
ing them to the uses of a new race. 

* County Court Files. 



96 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

After Mr. Bulkeley's death, a difference arose 
between his widow, Mrs. Grace Biilkeleyj and the 
citizens, concerning the extent of the mill privilege 
in the centre of the town, and the subject was 
deemed of sufficient importance to be investigated, 
in 1667, by a committee appointed by the General 
Court, on her petition, when the rights of the par- 
ties were ascertained and made known. 

The committee reported ^ that, after hearing testi- 
mony and examining the town records, they found 

'' a great neglect on Mr. Bulkley's part, in not making his 
couenant w*^^ the toune so cleare as might have been necessary 
for his oune security, 3'et so much is acknouledged by seuerall of 
the inhabitants, w^^ doe j^et speake to the trueth & substance of 
the same, that ffrom w^^ wee haue drawne vp these conclu- 
sions to present to this honoured Court in refference to the 
premises : — 

1. That the ounors of the sajd mill shall have liberty from 
tjme to time, & at all tjmes, to rajse the water fowre ffoote 
tenn inches perpendiccular ffrom the bottome of the mill troffe, 
as now it lieth at the head of the milne pond, but the wast or 
low shott not to be made narrower then now it is, or to be 
ra3'sed higher then to rajse the water (at the head of the pond) 
to fower ff*oot seuen Inches ffrom the bottom of the milne troffe 
before the water runns oner the wast. 

2. What land 13'eth vnder water, b}^ reason of the milne 
pond, at such a head of water as aforesajd, shall be the propriet}* 
& propper right of the ounors of the sajd mill for euer, except- 
ing alwayes that land which the toune of Concord haue formerly 
granted to an^^ of their inhabitants, all w'^^ land each proprietor 
shall enjoy according to his toune grant after the mill is wholly 
disannulled. 

^ Mass. Records, iv., pt. ii. 379. 



COI^CORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 97 

3. The ounors of the sajd mill for euer shall not be liable 
to sattisfy any damage donn to any person or persons whatso- 
euer, by such a head of water kept & majntejned as before sajd. 

4. The ounors of the sajd mill foreuer shall enjoy the benefit 
of all that water w*''^ ma}' be obte3'ned by any meanes formerly 
attempted i. e. to the higth of such a head of water as afore- 
sajd, w*'^ water shall not be diverted by any person or persons 
whatsoeuer. 

5. Lastly. The ounors of the sajd mill foreuer shall enjoy 
priuiledge on the comons for clay & sand convenient for the 
repaire of the mill damage from tjme to tjme as formerly they 
haue enjoyed. 

Symon Willard 
Jno Founell, & 
Jonathan Danforth. 
The Court approoves of this return.'* 

A prolonged search has failed to disclose any re- 
cord of the original dedication of the two old bury- 
ing-grounds to the purpose they have served so long. 
Both were used as places of burial, and are so desig- 
nated in the town records, as early as 1673, but the 
description of Thomas Dane's house-lot bounded 
on the north by the " bury all hill " was probably 
made about ten years earlier. The stone bearing 
the earliest date is that erected on the hill in memory 
of Joseph Meriam. The date is 1677. There is no 
monument or epitaph to mark the resting-place of 
any who died during the first forty-two years. 

If the tradition as to the site of the first meeting- 
house is accepted, we should naturally expect to find 
that the early families buried their dead as near as 
might be to their place of public worship, after the 
manner to which they had been accustomed in their 

7 



98 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. 

old home.^ This would account for the use of the 
hillside ; and after the lapse of thirty or forty years, 
the need of additional space would be felt, and it 
may be that the inclosure on Main Street, first men- 
tioned in 1673, came into use about that time. 

There have been family traditions that one or the 
other of these grounds was a gift to the town from 
some ancestor; but these traditions lack confirma- 
tion, and it seems quite as credible, in the absence 
of other evidence of a gift or purchase, that both 
inclosures consist of land that was never granted or 
allotted to any individual, and is still owned in 
common by the inhabitants of the town by virtue 
of the original grant, subject however, to whatever 
burial rights persons or families may possess. 

The road which was originally laid out so as to 
pass to the east and north of the burying-ground on 
Main Street was discontinued March 6, 1693, and 
the land granted by the following vote of the town 
to Jonathan Prescott, a large landowner, who lived 
where Dr. Barrett now lives. 

" Then was Granted unto L* Jonathan Prescote at his Re- 
quest Jointly by the sayd Inhabitants the highway upon the west 
side of his house lying between the Berring Plac[e] and the land 
that the s^ Prescot bought & was formerly Georg Wheelers 
deceased, from the common Road to the land of James Smedl}^ 
w<=^ highway is two Rods wide the saj^d Prescote is to maintaine 
or case to be made up a sufficient fence betwixt the sayd high- 
way now Granted & the bur3^ing place, and to maintaine the 

1 The first meeting-house in Sudbury stood in what is now the 
oldest cemetery in Wayland. Drake's Middlesex, ii. 463. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 99 



same for ever, and the sayd Inhabitants do Grant the premeses 
unto s? Prescote for ever unto him and his heirs upon the sayd 
condition the day above mentioned." ^ 

1 The following items are added from the town records : — 

May 9, 1710, " Whereas there hath beene sum demur in ye Town 
that ye bounds of ye Buring place on y® hill side by Danill Pellitts 
have not bene so well looked after as they should and that the s* 
bounds thereof be no longer neglected ppounded yt there be a com- 
mitte of 3 men chosen in each part of the Town one viz., Ensign 
Thomas Browne. Sa' John Wheeler M^ Nathanill Billings : to Requier 
Danill pellitt to Renue the Lins and stake out the bounds of s^ buring 
plase ; and s^ committe to make Report of their doings to the next town 
meeting voted on the affirmative." 

September 25, 1719, Joseph Dakin was paid £4. Ids. Qd. " in full 
for fenceing the burying places." 

The town voted November 15, 1726, to " fence the burying places," 
and " that they should be fenced with good Stone waU not less than 
four feet and [one] half high." 

November 25, 1745, " Voted that the affair Relating to the Securing 
the Bounds of the Burying Place on the Hill, and keeping it from 
wearing away be Left to the discression of the Selectmen." 

April 8, 1746, *' Abishai Brown was paid £20 for his making a 
stone wall on the Lower side of the burying place on the Hill." 



CHAPTER V. 



** Alas for them ! their day is o'er ; 
Their fires are out from hill and shore ; 
No more for them the wild deer bounds ; 
The plough is on their hunting-grounds ; 
The pale man's axe rings in their woods •, 
The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods ; 
Their pleasant springs are dry.'' 

Spsagub. 

" Who liveth by the ragged pine, 
Foundeth a heroic line." 

Emerson. 

Relations with the Indians. — King Philip's War. — Fight 
AT Brookfield. — Nashoba Indians. — Constable John 
Heywood's Return, 



Fkom the very beginning, the relations existing be- 
tween the colonists and the natives, their immediate 
neighbors, portended mischief. The latter, even 
where they met with kind treatment and the desire 
to do them justice, as was the case in Concord, 
were universally despised as heathen, and feared 
because suspected of being in league with the powers 
of darkness. " The Indian," says Mr. Emerson, 
" seemed to inspire such a feeling as the wild beast 
inspires in the people near his den." ^ The Concord 
men, imder the wise suggestions of Mr. Bulkeley, of 

1 Historical Discourse. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 101 

Willard and Flint, showed a desire to live on peace- 
able terms with their unpleasant neighbors, and a 
willingness to impart to them such instruction in the 
elements of Christianity and common decency as 
seemed best adapted to their condition. 

Willard and Flint assisted them in drawing up a 
code for the regulation of their conduct, very prac- 
tical in its details, and affording, it is fair to sup- 
pose, evidence of what were the native's most easily 
besetting sins.^ 

In 1654, Thomas Brooke, Senior, of Concord, and 
William Cowdrey of Eeading, were appointed for the 
County of Middlesex " to sell wine of any sort & 
Strong liquors to the Indians, as to their judgments 
shall seeme most meete and necessary." ^ The 
licensed persons were forbidden to deliver to any 
one Indian more than a pint of liquor at a time, 
but what was lacking, by reason of this restriction, 
was more than made up from irresponsible traders, 
whose cupidity knew no law. Prosecutions for 
selling intoxicating liquor to Indians were not 
infrequent, and there appears to have been no 
unwillingness on the part of the buyer to say where 
he obtained it. 

The natives were employed to some extent by 
the English in haying time, and at harvest, but 
they preferred the more congenial occupations of 
hunting and fishing, and making brooms, staves, 
eel-pots, and baskets, for which they found a market 

1 Shepard. ^ Mass. Records, iii. 369. 



n r 



102 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

among the whites. They also brought to market, 
in the season, huckleberries, strawberries, cranber- 
ries, grapes, and venison.^ Thus by the exercise of 
tact and by doing justly, the people of Concord suc- 
ceeded in preserving the friendly relations established 
in the beginning, until the outbreak of hostilities 
in 1675, under the direction of Philip. ^' No Indian 
shall come into an English man's house," so ran 
the old agreement, " except he first knock ; and 
this they expect from the English."^ 

It cannot, however, be said with truth that a like 
state of feeling prevailed through the colony. The 
Indians of New England were treated as inferior 
races have always been treated, whenever they 
crossed the path of a conquering people. In this 
case the weaker party, besides being few in numbers, 
were idle, filthy, and shiftless; but as human beings, 
they were entitled to some consideration, to say 
the least. They had stanch friends, like Eliot and 
Gookin, but it must be admitted that there never 
was a disposition, on the part of the colonists in gen- 
eral, to see any good in an Indian. 

Take a few instances from our own neighborhood : 

Thomas Dublet, a Concord Indian, was convicted 

of an assault upon one of the English, and sentenced 

to pay a fine of £20, in default whereof he was " to 

be sold to such as would buy him." ^ This man w^as 

* Letter of John Eliot, printed with Shepard's ** Cleare Sunshine." 

2 Shepard. 

8 County Court Records, Oct. 2, 1660. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 103 



subsequently of great service in procuring the re- 
lease of Mrs. Rowlandson from captivity. 

Henry, Indian, servant of James Blood, convicted, 
on his own confession, of burglary and theft, was 
sentenced to restore three-fold ; but when he ex- 
pressed a desire to work out the sentence as an 
apprentice at sea, the court ordered that he should 
be " disposed of & sold for such time as may availe 
to perform the sentence of the court," and to pay a 
fine of forty shillings.^ 

As illustrating the value put upon an Indian's 
word, Goody Draper, of Concord, was " convicted of 
selling strong water to Indians, so far," says the 
cautious scribe, " as Indian testimony may be ac- 
counted legall & valid." No penalty was inflicted, 
except to admonish her '^ of her evil therein," and to 
order her '' to pay the witnesses their costs, to Davy 
& his wife, six shillings, and unto Josiah, seven shill- 
ings & six pence." ^ 

The law prescribed that all cattle should be marked, 7 
and each town had its distinguishing brand. The 
larger animals were collected into a herd and driven 
to Fairhaven, to Captain Wheeler's farm in the New 
Grant, or to some other convenient feeding-place. 

While the crops were in the ground, swine were — 
herded on a large tract of land near Annursnack 
Hill, known for a long time as the " Hog Pens." 
After the crops were gathered the animals were 

1 County Court Records, Feb. 11, 1690. 

2 Ibid., Oct. 6, 1663. 



104 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

allowed to run at large, but the owner lost all claim 
to them unless they bore some " ear-mark." This 
regulation was adopted by the colonial government 
because it was observed that, whenever the animals 
had attained to any considerable size, Indians ap- 
peared in the settlements with pork to sell. 

Suspicions that the English were buying their own 
property led to the enactment of a law that all swine 
owned by Englishmen should be marked on their 
ears, but that the Indians should not mark their 
swine ; and furthermore, if they offered to sell pork 
to the English they were required to bring at the 
same time the swine's ears whole, or the meat was 
forfeited.^ This regulation would easily commend it- 
self; for not only was it calculated to discourage theft, 
but the natural result of its enforcement would be, 
practically, to give the whites the control of the pork 
market. 

The Indian outbreak commonly known as King 
PhiUp's War began in June, 1675, and lasted four- 
teen months, imperilling the very existence of the 
colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. 

This town was spared the horrors that accompa- 
nied the inroads of the enemy in other less favored 
quarters. Hither came the jealous occupants of 
Blood's Farms seeking a shelter from the threat- 
ening foe, and the homeless people of Groton and 
Lancaster found here refuge and relief. No hostile 
foot carried tomahawk and fagot within the bounds 

^ Mass. Records, iv. pt. ii. 512, 513. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 105 



of the original grant, and the old men, women, 
and children slept undisturbed by the dreadful cry 
in the dark. 

There was, however, no sense of peaceful security. 
All the men of military age were enrolled, and were 
constantly employed in manning the garrisons of the 
frontier and scouting from town to town in small 
parties. In the fight at the Narragansett Fort, Con- 
cord's share of the casualties was George Hayward, 
killed, and Abraham Temple and Thomas Browne, 
wounded. A detachment from Concord was decoyed 
into an ambush at Sudbury, April 21, 1676, and ten 
were slain. Shattuck-^ was able to ascertain the 
names of five only, viz. : James Hosmer, Samuel 
Potter, John Barnes, Daniel Comy, and Joseph 
Buttrick. The Middlesex Probate Records supply 
the additional names of Josiah Wheeler, David 
Curry, and Jacob Farrar.^ 

Isaac Shepard was surprised and slain on his 
farm near Nashoba, in February ; and, on March 10th, 
according to Hubbard,^ two men were going for hay 
at Concord, and one of them was killed. Whether 

1 History, p. 58. 

2 Captain Hugh Mason's company from Watertown went to the 
succor of Wadsworth's command, and their account of finding the 
bodies of five Concord men on the east side of the river is as follows : — 

*' On the next day in the morning, so soon as it was light, we went 
to look for Concord men who were slain in the river meadow, and there 
we went in the cold water up to our knees, where we found 5, and 
brought them in canoes to the bridge-foot and buried them there." 
Mass. Archives, v. 68, p. 224. 

8 History, p. 217. 



106 CONCOED IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

the statement of the latter occurrence should be 
considered as a brief allusion to the attack on the 
Shepards, which had already been noted, is somewhat 
uncertain; very likely it was nothing but a flying 
report that reached the historian at Ipswich, and 
was recorded without any attempt to learn the name 
of the victim. On the page next following is the 
detailed account of the killing of Isaac and Jacob 
Shepard. 

There is no suggestion either by Hubbard or Shat- 
tuck, as to the name of the man who was killed 
while going for hay, and the whole thing rests upon 
the statement of an author not celebrated for accu- 
racy, who was writing at such a distance and under 
such circumstances that it was very easy to confound 
one place with another, and to record as happening in 
Concord events which in reality occurred elsewhere. 

The story of the attack on the Shepard family is 
told by the last named author as follows : ^ — 

"• About the middle of February [1676], Abraham and Isaac 
Shepherd were killed near Nashobah in Concord village, while 
threshing grain in their barn. Apprehensive of danger, says 
tradition, they placed their sister Mary, a girl about fifteen 
years old, on a hill a little distance off to watch and forewarn 
them of the approach of an enemy. She was, however, sud- 
denly surprised and captured, and her brothers slain. She was 
carried captive into the Indian settlements, but with great hero- 
ism made her escape. While the Indians were asleep in the 
night, probably under the influence of spirituous liquors, she 
seized a horse, which they had a few days before stolen at 
Lancaster, took a saddle from under the head of her Indian 

1 Shattuck, p. 54. See also p. 384. 



CONCOKD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 107 

keeper, mounted, swam across the Nashua River, and rode 
through the forest to her home." ^ 

It appears from the Probate Kecords that, on June 
20, 1676, administration on the estate of "Isaac 
Shepard late of Concord " was awarded to Mary 
Shepard his " rehct widow," jointly with ^'Abram 
Shepard her brother." Clearly, then, Isaac was 
killed and Abraham administered upon his estate. 

The widow of the former was Mary, the daughter 
of Baptist Smedly ; and the inventory discloses a re- 
spectable property, among other things, "A farme 
at Nashobe, one house one barn 12 ac^^ of broken 
up land 10 of meadow with the rest of the ffarme," 
— all valued at £150. 

As the evidence stands, we cannot be assured that 
more than one man (Isaac Shepard) was killed by 

^ Hubbard's History, and a " Century Sermon " preached by Kev. 
Edmund Foster, of Littleton, in 1815, a copy of which is preserved in 
the Congregational Library, in Boston, are cited as authorities. The 
statements contained in the sermon are based expressly upon the 
account furnished by Hubbard. Hubbard says (History of the Indian 
Wars, p. 217) : " March 10th, at Concord two men going for hay one of 
them was killed ; " and again (p. 218) : " Also two men were killed at 
a farm about Concord, Isaac and Jacob about the middle of February, 
& a young maid that was set to watch upon a hill, of about fifteen 
years of age, was carried captive, who strangely escaped away upon a 
horse, that the Indians had taken from Lancaster a little before." 

It has been commonly stated on the authority of these two extracts 
from Hubbard, that three men were killed in Concord by the Indians. 
It will be noticed, however, that Hubbard gives the name of one of 
the victims as "Jacob," instead of Abraham; but an examination of 
the town records and other sources of information fails to disclose any 
evidence that a person named Jacob Shepard ever lived or died in 
Concord. 



108 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



Indians within the limits of Concord. There may 
have been one more, but our only authority is Hub- 
bard's brief and vague paragraph, to which the 
researches of Mr. Shattuck added nothing. 

But what claims our attention above all else, is 
the expedition of Captain Edward Hutchinson, un- 
dertaken in the summer of 1675, after hostilities 
had begun in Plymouth. The " Narrative " written 
by Captain Thomas Wheeler is the epic of colonial 
times. 

Captain Hutchinson was commissioned by the 
Council at Boston to proceed to the Nipmuck coun- 
try, so called, in what is now Worcester county, and 
confer with the Indians there, for the purpose of 
preventing, if possible, any extension of Philip's in- 
fluence in that direction. Captain Thomas Wheeler, 
of Concord, who was already advanced in years, 
and had commanded the western troop of horse ever 
since its organization, was ordered to accompany 
Hutchinson, with an escort of twenty or twenty-five 
men of his company. 

Accordingly they set out from Cambridge, and ar- 
rived at Quabaug, or Brookfield, on Sunday, August 
1st. Here they received information that the Indians 
whom they had expected to meet had withdrawn to 
a place about ten miles distant, towards the north- 
west. A detachment of four men was sent forward 
to assure them of the peaceable character of the 
expedition, and a meeting was agreed upon for the 
next morning, at 8 o'clock, on a plain within three 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 109 



miles of the town. There was some apprehension 
of treachery, but prominent citizens of Brookfield 
not only expressed confidence in the good intentions 
of the savages, but declared their own wilUngness 
to be present at the conference; and Hutchinson 
decided that the appointment must be kept. 

The Indians, however, did not appear, and this fact, 
together with other suspicious circumstances, led the 
sagacious Wheeler to think that to venture further 
would be unwise. But Hutchinson was unwilling to 
abandon his mission with nothing accomplished, and, 
in deference to his wishes, the order was given to 
advance towards a swamp where the savages were 
supposed to be lurking. As they proceeded, the 
narrowness of the path, with the swamp on one side 
and a rocky hill on the other, forced men and horses 
to march in single file. Suddenly the war-whoop 
resounded, and the advancing column was assailed 
by a volley of arrows and bullets discharged from 
behind trees and bushes, killing eight men, wound- 
ing five, and throwing the line into disorder, which 
was materially increased by the difficulty of turning 
about or passing by in the straitened passageway. 

Captain Wheeler spurred his horse up the hillside, 
when, finding himself unhurt and perceiving that 
some of his men had fallen under the fire of the 
enemy, who were now rushing forward to finish their 
work, he turned about and dashed boldly forward to 
attack them. This movement separated him for a 
few moments from his men. A well-directed shot 



110 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

killed his horse and brought the old man to the 
ground, wounded, and it would soon have been all 
over with the brave captain had not his son Thomas, 
who was also wounded, come to the rescue. Quickly 
dismounting, he placed his father in the saddle, and 
ran by his side until he caught another horse that 
had lost its rider, and so the two escaped with their 
lives, but suffering severely from their wounds. 

This was merely the beginning. Hutchinson had 
received a wound that caused his death in a few 
days, and now the task of extricating the command 
from its perilous situation devolved upon Captain 
Wheeler. It was performed in masterly fashion. 
Keeping to the open . country and avoiding the 
woods, they retraced their way, with the assistance 
of friendly Indian guides, to the village of Brook- 
field, took possession of one of the largest and 
strongest houses, and fortified it as best they could.^ 

They had not long to wait before the enemy ap- 
peared in superior numbers and attacked the strong- 
hold with vigor. The captain's disability brought to 
the front Lieutenant Simon Davis, another Concord 
man, who fought and prayed with a fervor that re- 
minds one of the soldiers of Cromwell. To him, 
associated with James Richardson and John Fiske, of 
Chelmsford, the direction of affairs was entrusted. 



1 In his certificate given to Joseph and Sampson, Captain W^heeler 
speaks of their services in "the inn at Brookfield." It is possible 
that the inn was the building that was chosen for a fortification. See 
Wheeler's certificate, printed in Gookin's History. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. HI 

Two men despatched to Boston for assistance were 
unable to elude the vigilance of the besiegers, and 
were obliged to return. The Indians piled hay 
and other combustibles against the side of the house 
and set fire to them, thus forcing the English to 
expose themselves in their efforts to extinguish the 
flames. Their bows shot arrows tipped with "wild 
fire," which alighted on the buildings within the 
enclosure and set them afire. To get their com- 
bustible materials close to the walls, a remarkable 
engine fourteen rods long was constructed by the 
savages, of poles and barrels, which they trundled 
forward on its menacing errand. 

For three days and nights this horrible warfare 
continued. The besieged were compelled to witness 
the mutilation of their dead comrades who had fallen 
outside, and to endure as best they could the jeers 
and taunts of the foe. Kain came to the assistance 
of the little band, by putting out the fires of their 
assailants, and rendering it difficult to kindle new 
ones. Davis, who is said to have been " of a lively 
spirit," exhorted his men to remember that God 
was fighting on their side, and to take good aim 
before firing. The prayers and hymns of the sol- 
diers, borne out on wings of fire and smoke, were 
answered by cries of the unregenerate heathen, who 
gave utterance to hideous groanings in imitation of 
the singing of psalms. 

Twice did brave Ephraim Curtis attempt to make 
his way through the enemy's line to go for succor. 



112 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Twice was lie compelled to return baffled. The 
third time, by great exertions and crawling for a 
considerable distance on his hands and knees, he 
succeeded in reaching Marlborough, where he gave 
the alarm ; and on the evening of the 4th, the garri- 
son was overjoyed at the arrival of their old neighbor 
and friend, Major Willard, with a force of forty-six 
soldiers and five Indians, who, hearing at Marlbor- 
ough of their distress, had altered his course to 
come to their relief. Towards morning, the Indians 
departed, having first set fire to all the houses 
except that which sheltered the whites. 

Of the Concord men, Samuel Smedly^ was killed 

1 Samuel Smedly was son of Baptist Smedly. His sister Mary 
married for her first husband Isaac Shepard, who six months after- 
wards was killed by the Indians on liis farm at Nashoba. Two inven- 
tories of Samuel's estate are preserved in the Middlesex Probate 
Records, which say that he was " slean by The Indians at quapoge.'* 
They contain, among other items, the following: 
" 2 horses lost in the Countrys sarvis 06.0.0." 
*' 2 horses was kild with him at the flight at quapoge." 
In 1693-95, Samuel, son of the Samuel above named, and his aunt, 
then Mrs. Jewell, convey the homestead owned by their grandfather, 
Baptist Smedly, to Adam Winthrop, of Boston. 

The death of his si n was too heavy a blow for the already severely 
taxed powers of the aged father, and the tragedy was made complete 
by the death of Baptist Smedly, only a fortnight after the loss of 
his son. After devising a portion of his real estate to the wife and 
children of his son-in-law, Isaac Shepard, he says in his will : 
"furthrmore I give unto them my Grandchild Jabesh Butter till he 
come to the age of twenty-one years." The " prizers " who made an 
inventory of the estate included the following item: " His Grandchild 
Jabesh Butter 008. 00. 00." This was probably meant as their esti- 
mate of the value of the boy's services until he should become of age, 
but at first sight the item is somewhat startling. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 113 

at the swamp, and Henry Young was shot while 
looking out of an attic window. It has already 
been stated that Captain Wheeler was severely 
wounded, and his son was detained at Brookfield 
for several weeks by the injuries he had received. 

It is easy to believe that the captain and the re- 
mainder of his troop received a hearty welcome on 
their return home. The town kept the 21st day 
of October, 1675, as "a day of praise and thanks- 
giving to God for their remarkable deliverance and 
safe return.'* Men from Billerica, Chelmsford, and 
Sudbury took an honorable part in this affair. The 
services of Ephraim Curtis, of Sudbury, were espe- 
cially valuable ; but we may say with truth that it 
was a battle in which Concord men were foremost in 
the display of courage, and the rarer qualities that 
constitute good leadership. 

Our interest in the story is not marred by any 
doubts concerning the morality of the purpose and 
objects of the expedition, as is the case when we 
read of Lovewell's Fight, and other contests, in the 
eighteenth century. The Indians appear to have 
behaved very badly from the beginning. They were 
guilty of an unprovoked and treacherous assault 
upon a party whose purpose was one of peace 
and friendship. The mission was an honorable one 
and faithfully discharged; and Wheeler and his men 
are deserving of praise for all time, as brave soldiers 
who acquitted themselves nobly under the most 
trying circumstances. 



114 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Immediately after the engagement at Brookfield, 
the militia of Suffolk and Middlesex were ordered 
to hold themselves in readiness to march at a min- 
ute's notice. A military magazine was established 
in Concord, and an able gunsmith was stationed here 
in October, to repair arms from time to time as 
might be required. In October it was ordered ^ that 

" Whereas in Concord & the tonnes adjacent there is a neces- 
sity of a gunnsmith to be resident there, for the fixing vp of 
armes, from tjme to tjme, during this warr, it is hereby or- 
dered, that Capt Timothy Wheeler be hereby impowred to im- 
presse an able gunsmith, who is to repaire to Concord, who shall 
carefully and diligently attend that service." 

Everything was placed on a war footing, and the 
Council even passed an order for building " a line or 
fence of stockadoes or stones" eight feet high, to ex- 
tend from the Charles River at Watertown to a point 
on the Concord River in Billerica, an estimated dis- 
tance of twelve miles. As many ponds as possible 
were to be included in the line, to form parts of this 
barrier, which was designed for the protection of the 
frontier towns against a marauding enemy. It is un- 
necessary to say that this foolish scheme was never 
carried into effect ; but the fact that it was seriously 
entertained and once actually adopted by the Council, 
is a convincing proof of the excited state of men's 
minds. 

The Christian or " Praying " Indians, as they were 
called, were suspected, probably without reason as to 

1 Mass. Records, v. 54. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 115 

most of them, of sharing in the Brookfield treachery, 
and of sympathy with Philip in his general plan. 
This belief and the excitement caused by it induced 
the colonial authorities to order the removal of the 
Indians of Ponkapog and Natick to Deer Island in 
Boston Harbor. For want of a sufficient supply of 
food and fuel at that place the Indians of Nashoba, 
about fifty-eight all told, were ordered to Concord in 
November, 1675, — a disposition of them which 
caused great commotion among the people, for the 
memory of Brookfield was still fresh, and the sight of 
an Indian was scarcely endurable. 

General Gookin, Mr. John Eliot, and Major Willard 
were despatched hither by the General Court, to see 
that the unwelcome visitors were placed under such 
care and conduct as might quiet and compose the 
minds of the English. They found that Mr. John 
Hoar was the only man in town who was willing to 
take charge of the miserable remnant. 

Unpopular as he was, and bitterly sensible of injus- 
tice suffered at the hands of the very magistrates who 
were now desirous of his aid in seeking to extricate 
themselves from a serious dilemma, he nevertheless 
came forward in a truly philanthropic spirit and un- 
dertook the care of the Indians. He provided for 
them in buildings of his own, and began the erection 
of a new workshop near his dwelling-house, where 
the Indians might be employed by day and secured 
at night ; and other measures were taken to promote 
their comfort and safety. 



116 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

But he was powerless to stem the tide of pubhc 
sentiment. On the first day of February, 1676, 
the Eames family were massacred at Framingham ; 
eleven days later came the attack on the Shepards ; 
and hostile demonstrations elsewhere on the near 
frontier filled the settlements with dismal appre- 
hensions. 

These events crowding one upon another gave rise 
among the Concord people to feelings of strong dislike 
of the Indians living in the town, — feelings which, 
although, at this distance of time, we are compelled 
to believe them unwarranted by the facts, and pro- 
ductive of wrong in their manifestation, cannot be 
considered inexplicable. 

Shortly after the murder of Shepard, some of the 
inhabitants secretly invited Captain Mosley to come 
with his company and remove the Indians from the 
town. He appeared in Concord, one Sunday, in 
response to this invitation, with a detachment of 
men, and marched into the meeting-house, where 
the people were assembled for worship. 

At the conclusion of the exercises, the captain 
addressed the congregation, saying that he under- 
stood there were some heathen in the town com- 
mitted to one Hoar, who, he was informed, were a 
trouble and disquiet to them ; and therefore if the 
people desired it, he would remove the Indians to 
Boston. No one made any objection, and there were 
" two or three that encouraged him." 

The meeting broke up, and Mosley, followed by 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 117 

his men and a large number of the townspeople, 
started for Hoar's house, " which stood about the 
midst of the town, and very nigh the town watch- 
house." ^ Arrived there, the captain counted the 
Indians and left a corporal's guard. Hoar vigorously 
protesting against all his proceedings as illegal and 
unwarranted. The next day the captain came, and, 
upon Hoar's refusal to recognize his authority, broke 
in the door and carried off the Indians to partake of 
the discomforts of Deer Island. These events oc- 
curred February 21, 1676. 

There was some talk made by the magistrates and 
deputies about this affair, but the fact that Mosley 
went unrebuked is sufficient evidence that his action 
was not looked upon with any general disfavor.^ 

It appears from Gen. Gookin's report, made No- 
vember 10, 1676, that the Nashoba Indians, about 
fifty in number, had then returned to their plantation 
and were living there quietly and unmolested. In 
1684, the Nashoba Plantation, four miles square, was 

1 Gookin. In 1638, the town was fined five shillings " for want of 
a paire of stocks & a watchhouse; " and. the following year a like fine 
was imposed " for not giveing in a transcript of their lands/' and ten 
shillings "for neglecting their watch." In 1641, there was another 
fine of ten shillings " for neglecting watch & not appearance." Mass. 
Records, i. 267, 284, 317. 

Stocks were usually placed near the meeting-house, and in some 
places that building was used as a watch-house. 

2 For additional details, see Gookin's History, and Hoar's petition, 
both printed in the Transactions and Collections of the American An- 
tiquarian Society, vol. ii. The original of Hoar's petition is among 
the Shattuck papers in the library of the New England Historic 
Genealogical Society. 



118 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

said to be " inliabited by a parcell of Indians, but for 
many yeares hatb been deserted all dead except 
some few y* are dispersed." ^ 

In the return made to Governor Leverett, June 
13, 1676, by Constable John Heywood, we have an 
amusing account of the escape of three Indian 
women and a child from military custody.^ The 
anxious official thus deprecates the wrath of his 
superiors, and at the same time shows the uneasiness 
that prevailed : — 

Concord this ISth: June 1676. 
Honord Gouernor Leuer* 

"Inasmuch as heare has bin a sad accident befallen us 
through the ocation of nedglegent persons ; which had trust 
Imposed to them ; to keep senterj over three old squas & one 
papoose, these watchmen fell all asleep, and in the meanetime 
y® squas made theire escape ; from them ; which may produce a 
great deale of damage to us y* are resident in Concord ; because 
we are affraid they are aquainted with 3'e Condition of o^ 
towne, & what quant3'ty of men we have gon out ; & which 
way they are gone ; which may prove very obstructive to o^ 
army in their design ; we had a Capt : appo3'nted over the 
magaseine ; which I thought to be suffitient to give a Charge to 
12 men ; to keep senternalls over three old squas ; I hope 
yo'' hono^ will be pleased to take it into Consideration & 
send us some more strength to suport us from o'^ enemies ; for 
we are in dayly fear ; y* they will make an asault on o^ towne ; 
So hopeing yo'^ hono^ Cannot Impute any Blame to him ; who 
wish to yo^ hono^ y® best y* may be ; b}' yo'^ hono^^ most Humble 
Servant 

John Haywood ; 

ConstaU." 
1 Mass. Archives, v. 113, p. 193. 2 n^id,^ y. 30, p. 203. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 119 



Two days after the receipt of this petition, Gen- 
eral Gookin ordered a draft of twenty men, " to 
march up to Concord for the security of the [word 
garrison erased] magizen there.' 



" 1 



1 Mass. Archives, v. 69, p. 95. 



jl 



CHAPTER VI. 

** . . . if they threw 
Dice charged with fates beyond their ken, 
Yet to their instincts they were true, 
And had the genius to be men." 

Lowell. 

" The rough and bearded forester 
Is better than the lord." 

Emerson. 

The Militia. — Education. — Charities. — Mining and 
Manufactures. — Public Houses. — Amusements. — Free- 
men. — The Andros Revolution. 

OuK study of the colonial times would justly be 
deemed incomplete, if we failed to touch more par- 
ticularly upon the military side of colonial life, — to 
give a glimpse, at least, of the Puritan as a soldier. 

In 1636, Sergeant Willard was appointed " to 
exercise the military company at Concord," ^ and 
the town has never been without a military organiza- 
tion since that day. 

Every man of military age, except the magistrates, 
ministers, and deacons, was required to be furnished 
with arms and ammunition, to appear at stated times 
for exercise in military duties, or to go on short 

1 Winthrop, ii. 423. Addenda. 



COl^CORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 121 

expeditions, for service in the outlying garrisons or 
scouting from town to town. 

Sometimes persons were excused from military - 
duty by reason of age, or other infirmity; but it 
was necessary to apply to the County Court for 
the privilege of exemption. For this reason, John 
Smedly w^as released " from all ordinary trainings," ^ 
and Sergeant William Buttrick w^as excused " from 
all ordinary trayneings, watchings & wardings." ^ 
But William Frizzell was exempted on condition of 
his " paying 2s. 6d. anno to the use of the military 
company of the Towne where He lives." ^ 

A regiment had but one field officer, who was 
called sergeant-major, and the whole force was under 
the command of a major-general.^ The officers of a 
company were a captain, lieutenant, ensign, and four 
sergeants. The commissioned officers carried swords, 
partisans or leading staves, and pistols ; and they 
were elected by the members of the company and 
approved by the General Court. The sergeants bore 
halberds. The common soldiers were armed with 
matchlock or firelock muskets, each with a pair of 
bandoleers or pouches for powder and bullets. A 
forked stick was carried, to be used as a rest to assist 
the aim.^ 

1 County Court Records, June 20, 1676. 

2 lUd., June 19, 1683. Buttrick's petition, not, as I judge, in his 
hand-writing, is among the Shattuck papers. 

3 County Court Records, June 25, 1661. 

4 Hutchinson, i. 396. 

5 Palfrey, ii. 49, 50. 



122 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

The officers were required to be church members, 
and the military exercises were preceded and followed 
by prayer offered by the officer in command. The 
meetings for military exercise had much of the char- 
acter of town meetings, for it appears by the record 
that a very important matter — the choice of a com- 
mittee, in 1654, to make division of the highways — 
was voted " at a publique training." 

Willard was the first to be commissioned captain of 
the foot company, or train-band. This was May 6, 
1646, and Timothy Wheeler was at the same time 
made ensign.^ For fifteen years the latter held the 
responsible post of captain ; but in 1677, Peter Bulke- 
ley, Esquire, then in England as agent of the colony, 
was appointed captain,^ and subsequently became 
major. 

The General Court ordered, October 12, 1669,^ 

'' that such persons living in the frontier tounes w*^ in the county 
of Middlesex as are legall}^ capacitated to l3^st themselues troop- 
ers shall haue liberty to doe the same, vnder Thomas Wheeler, 
Senio^, of Concord, whom this Court appoints to be their leif- 
tenS &c." 

This was the beginning of the second troop of 
horse in Middlesex, "being the westerne troope 
of that county." Subsequently, in 1671, Wheeler 
was made captain, Thomas Hinchman lieutenant, and 
Henry Woodis quarter-master.* Two years after- 
wards, Woodis was made cornet, and Corporal 

1 Mass. Records, ii. 146 ; iii. 62, 63. ^ ij^id.^ v. 151. 

8 Ibid., V. pt. ii. 439. * Ibid., p. 486. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 123 



William Hartwell was appointed quarter-master in 
his place.^ 

In May, 1667, the General Court ordered, that in 
every town there should be a "committee of the 
militia/' and that fortifications should be erected 
under the direction of the committee and the se- 
lectmen, for the protection of the soldiers and inhab- 
itants.^ It was thought to be necessary and proper, 
under stress of the public emergency, to build forts 
or garrisons on any man's land, without other leave 
or license than what might be inferred from the 
terms of the general order referred to.^ 

Like other towns on the frontier, Concord was 
furnished with a considerable number of garrison- 
houses, scattered over its large territory, to serve 
for shelter whenever an alarm was sounded. A 
more extensive stronghold at the centre served as a 
rendezvous for the soldiers, who were ordered to as- 
semble here to guard the supplies or for the purpose 
of preparing for operations elsewhere. Shattuck re- 
ports * the tradition that one of these garrison-houses 
stood where Dr. Barrett lives, another near Lewis 
Flint's, a third near Merriam's Corner, two within the 
present limits of Bedford, one near the John Hosmer 
place, and a seventh near the Pope and Lyman farm 
in Acton. 

The following documents illustrate the methods 
employed to secure a quota from the town : — 

1 Mass. Records, iv. pt. ii. 567. 2 jud^^ p, 330. 

3 Hutchinson, ii. 67, note. * History, p. 47. 



124 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



" To the bonoi'd Council sitting in Boston 3*? 10*^ 75. 

By virtue of a warrant from Maj'' Simon Willarcl directed to 
the Comittee of the Militia in Concord requiring them to im- 
presse eleven able souldiers well fited &c : for the service of the 
Country in the present expedition: The said Comittee have 
impressed (& accord : to order of the hon^^ Council doe returne 
the names of) these persons ; viz : Joseph Busse, Abraham 
Temple, Samuel How, John Wood, Joseph Wheeler, Thomas 
Browne, John Wheeler, Timothy Rice, George Hay ward, Ste- 
phen Farre & John Ta3dour, who are at present (most of them 
& the rest seasonably will bee) fitted well with armes : But 
severall of them doe want & desire to be supplyed with some 
cloathing (coates especialljO & where they may bee accommo- 
dated with them they would understand. 3*1 lO^^J^ 75. 

Yo' worships humble servant 

Tim : Wheeler Capt. 

of Concord. 
Postscript. 

Wee having severall Troopers also impressed in this 
Towne, & there being a Compan}^ of Indians ordered amongst 
us, w^^ wee are to take care of: Tis humbly desired, that favor 
ma}^ bee showne us, in the release of some (if it may bee) of the 
persons abovementioned. 

Tim: Wheelek." 
[Mass. Archives, v. 68, p. 85.] 

'' To the Hono:^^« Gov^ : and Councell now sitting in Boston 

June 28 : 1677 
The Request of the Millitia of the towne of Concord 

Humbly sheweth that the millitia of the said towne receiveing 
a warrant from the worp^^ Maj^ Gookin to impress foure men 
for the service of the Country : and being informed that those 
that were to be prest were intended onely to scout about Chelmes- 
ford; and the said Millitia not being able to obtaine those 
persons that were intended and desired they sent foure 3'ouths 
promiseing to releive them within one week after they went but 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 125 



so soone as they came to Chelmesford they were conducted to 
black point where they now remaine. 

Our humble request to yo'^ Hon^^ therefore is : that you will 
please to consider how unfitt these youths are for the Countryes 
service : namely Samuell Stratton John Wheat, John Ball : 
Thomas Woolley : : and that they may be dismissed from the 
said service : and be returned home with the first that doe 
returne, so shall we ever pray for y'^ Hon^^ &c. 

Timothy Wheeler Capt 
in the name of y® Millitia." 
[Mass. Archives, v. 69, p. 134.] 

The high esteem in which miUtary offices and 
titles were held, as well as the tenacity with which 
their possessors clung to them, are well illustrated in 
the case of William Buss. About a year after the 
close of Philip's War, it became necessary to reor- 
ganize the military forces of the town, which con- 
sisted of a train-band of upwards of one hundred and 
fifty men, besides the horse company, to whose ranks 
Concord contributed a good number of troopers. 
The old Indian fighter, Thomas Wheeler, was dead, 
and Thomas Hinchman was made captain of the 
troop, with John Flint for lieutenant.^ Timothy 
Wheeler, the " ancient captain " of the foot com- 
pany, was infirm with age, the lieutenant had re- 
moved from town, and consequently the burden of 
military affairs fell upon William Buss, who had been 
ensign for nearly twenty years, and was now about 
sixty-five years of age. 

1 Mass. Kecords, v. 142. 



126 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

The appointment of Mr. Peter Bulkeley, grandson 
of the Rev. Peter, to the honorable and responsible 
office of captain, while still absent from the country 
and suspected of being too friendly to the court 
party, did not mend matters. The citizens under- 
took to remove Buss by electing him constable, 
hoping thereby to force him to relinquish his mili- 
tary position. But inter arma silent leges. The old 
man refused to qualify for the civil office and in- 
dignantly appealed to the Council, who annulled the 
action of the town and subsequently made Buss a 
lieutenant. Following is his petition and the order 
thereon : ^ — 

" To the Hono^^® Governor & Councill now sitting in Boston 
March 21^'* 1677-8. The Petition of William Buss of Concord. 
Humbl}' sheweth that yo^ Petitio^ by Vertue of an order from 
the Gen^i Court hath served in the s^^ towne of Concord as an 
Ensigne to the foot Company for neare the Space of Twenty 
yeares : And the Leift- of the s^ Company being removed out 
of the towne : and the ancient Cap* of the s^ Company being 
weake and infirme : and the Captaine Lately chosen by the 
Hono -y^^ Gen^i Court being in England : a great part of the 
Charge of the Millitia in the s*! towne remaines upon ^o^ Pe- 
tition^ : and he being now neare Sixty five yeares old : is much 
disabled (considering what troubles have beene upon the Country 
possibly may be Renew^*^) for mannage of that great Concerne : 
and now the Inhabitants of the said towne as an Addition to his 
Trouble have Chosen j'o'' Petitio'^ to the office of a Constable in 
the s? Towne. and (for what he at present apprehends) are Re- 
solv'd to fforce him to serve in the s^ place and office. 

Yo'^ Petition therefore humbly Intreats the flfavor of 3^our hon- 
ors to Consider the premises : and to pass some order whereby 

1 Mass. Archives, v. 69, p. 187. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 127 

he may bee freed from the office and service of a Constable in 
the said towne So shall he pray for yo^ Honors &c 

William Buss." 

Indorsements: "At a Councell held at Boston March 21 ^t 
1677-8. 

In answer to the within written petition of William Buss the 
Councell doo hereby order (that if the towne of Concord have 
chosen the said Buss Constable for the yeare Ensuing) that the 
Inhabitants of the said towne forthwith meet and choose another 
person to serve in the said office : and the said William Buss is 
hereb}^ declaired free from the said office of Constable. 

by order of the Councell John Hayward." 

Major-General Gookin represented to the General 
Court, October 14, 1685, that the Concord train-band 
had but " one Commissioned officer that officiates in 
this Company — viz Left. Buss who is very aged^ 
& not well able to conduct the affiiires of y® great 
company, therefore having informed myselfe as the 
fittest man to suply the place of an ensigne for that 
company, I do propound to the court Humphrey 
Barret, who is a ffreeman & of y® church at Con- 
cord, [illegible] a serjeant of that company, that 
the court will make him Ensigne of Concord foot 
company." And he was appointed accordingly. 

The return of Samuel Jones, " Clerk of y^ bona," 
made July 2. 1689, states that " the souldiers of Con- 
cord " met together, and " by a clear voat " nominated 
James Minott, captain, Simon Davis, lieutenant, and 
Humphrey Barrett, ensign. The election of these 

1 He was about seventy-three years of age. 



128 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



officers was confirmed and appointments were made 
accordingly.^ But in November following it was 

" Ordered by the Representatives That the foot Company of 
Concord being of the number of on hundred & thre score men & 
upward ; be devided into two Company^ and that the East quarf^ 
of the town together w*^ that part of the south quarf^ southward 
from that street commonly called Scotchford Lane be of on Com- 
pany & the North quarf^ of the Town & the Remaining pt of the 
South quart^ westward of sd Scotchford Lane be another Com- 
pany. 

Nov 'J 6^^: 1689. Ebenezer Prout Clerk." ^ 

As regards education, it was true, of necessity, that 
throughout the period of which we are treating, 
there was little reading of books ; but every family 
possessed and read the Bible, and in some houses 
might have been found Fox's Book of Martyrs, and a 
few books of sermons, or commentaries, or controver- 
sial tracts. Kev. Peter Bulkeley had a very consider- 
able library for those times, a portion of which he be- 
queathed to Harvard College. From the instructions 
received by the selectmen in the year 1672, it ap- 
pears that the nucleus already existed of a town 
library. It was enjoined upon those officers '' that 
ceare be taken of the bookes of marters & other 
bookes, that belong to the Towne, that they may be 
kept from abeuce [ive] vesage, & not to be lent to a 
any person more then one month at one time.'' 

It is said,^ that there was a grammar school in 
Concord before 1680 ; but, in the earlier years of the 

1 Mass. Archives, v. 107, p. 166. 2 j^i^i^ y. 35, p. 70. 

8 Shattuck, p. 220. 



CONCORD m THE COLOMAL PERIOD. 129 

settlement, there could have been no regular instruc- 
tion of the youth, except what was su|)plied by the 
minister and by parents ; and it is not likely that 
there was any school-house, or building specially 
devoted to school purposes, at any time preceding 
the gift of Captain Timothy Wheeler, in 1687. Even 
at a much later date, schools in the outlying districts 
were kept in the house where the master boarded, 
and when he changed his quarters, the school also 
moved with him. 

Negative evidence to the same point is furnished 
by the report of John Smedly and Thomas Dakin, in 
1680, that " as for schools we have in every quarter 
of our town men and women that teach to read and 
write English when parents can spare their children 
and others to go to them."-^ In the spring of 1665, 
the town was complained of, for " not having a lattin 
Schoole M^ ; " ^ and for the next four or five years 
it was necessary, from time to time, to remind the 
inhabitants of their want of a school-master, and their 
supposed inattention to the catechizing of youth. 

Our forefathers were no less mindful of the ad- 
vantages of book learning than the rest of the 
inland population. They saw stretching out before 
them a life of severe labor, either in tilling the 
soil or plying a handicraft. Learned professions, — 
except the clerical, which was already well filled, 
— offered no allurements. Operations of trade, or 

1 Historical and Genealogical Register, v. 5, p. 173. 

2 County Court Files, 

9 



130 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

marketing the jDroducts of the soil, consisted in most 
cases of simple barter. There was, in general, no 
taste or desire for Avhat we should call literature, — 
luckily, for there was nothing accessible with which 
to satisfy the craving. The great value of the Bible, 
considered from a literary point of view, was not 
much dwelt upon, because of the greater importance 
attached to it as a collection of authoritative pre- 
cepts, which, rightly expounded, contained all that 
was necessary for human beings to know. 

Considerations of this kind enable us more readily 
to understand how an ordinary man or woman in 
those days might have been content with the dis- 
courses of Sunday and lecture-day, without taking 
the trouble to do much readins; at home. 

As has been already observed, the business of buy- 
ing and selling, as ordinarily carried on, called for 
no complicated mathematical knowledge, or for the 
keeping of elaborate accounts. Therefore, the art of 
writing, now universally taught and practised, easily 
fell into disuse, and became an accomplishment for 
the few, at a time when all paper was imported from 
England and letters were not expected, or, when 
written, were carried by a private messenger at 
considerable expense. 

In 1653, the town subscribed £5 a year for seven 
years, in aid of Harvard College, and about 1672, 
the sum of £45 was subscribed towards building 
Harvard Hall.^ 

^ Mass. Archives, v. 58, p. 93. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 131 

In 1687, the cause of education in Concord re- 
ceived encouragement and support from the public 
bequests of Captain Timothy Wheeler, who died 
July 10th, of that year. His will contained the fol- 
lowing clause, by which he sought to promote educa- 
tion in the town, and to enlarge the training-place, 
as well : — 

" I Give to the Towne of Concord my house that stands 
near EUaz. Fleggs house with the Land that itt stands upon 
and is joj'ned to itt ; w^^ is about Three acres ; be itt more or 
Lesse bounded bj^ the Highway on the North East by my Land 
(viz<^) the Gutter and Eliazer Fleggs Land on the North West 
& South This I say I Give to the said Towne to be Improved 
as followeth (viz*) ; That about halfe an acre of the said Lott 
be Laid out to the training place the fence to Run from the 
Corner of the House to the brow of the Hill upon a straight 
Lyne ; the Dwelling house with the rest of the Land w*^^ all that 
is upon itt I give to be Improved for the furtherance of Learn- 
ing and the Support of a Schoole in the said Towne." ^ 

By the same instrument he devised to the town 
the Ministerial wood-lot, of about forty acres, situated 
between the Turnpike and the Walden road, "to be 
from time to time Improved for the use and benefitt 
of the Ministry of the said Towne." 

An indenture^ entered into, in the year 1688, by 

1 Suffolk Probate Records, v. 10. p. 103. The dwelling-house re- 
ferred to in the above extract was not the Bulkeley house, which, 
together with the mill, Captain Wheeler expressly devised to his daugh- 
ter Rebecca, wife of James Minott. 

Of the school-house lot, portions were sold from time to time, until 
two and one-half acres had shrunk to a lot barely large enough to 
sustain the building, which is now owned by the Misses Ball and is 
devoted to the use of the Masonic Order. 

2 Mass. Archives, v. 129, p. 130. 



132 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

the overseers of the poor, of Boston, with Ebenezer 
Prout, of Concord, affords evidence of what every 
young woman was expected to know. The subject 
of the agreement, described as " a poor Child of the 
age of Nine years," was bound to serve as an appren- 
tice until she became twenty-one years of age or was 
married. Prout agreed, on his part, that she should 
" be taught perfectly to read English, Sew, Spin, and 
Knit as she shall be capable ; " that he would supply 
her with " wholesome sufficient meat, drink. Apparel, 
washing, & Lodging ; " and at the end of the term, 
dismiss her " with two new Suits of Apparel through- 
out, one for Lord's days, the other for working days." 

It will be noticed that she was to be taught to read, 
but nothing is said about writing. Of the first 
planters, nearly all the men, and some of the women, 
could write, but their sons and grandsons not infre- 
quently signed by making a mark ; and during the 
first three generations it was an unusual accomplish- 
ment in a woman to be able to write her name. 

As has been already intimated, we should not judge 
of their deficiencies, in this or in other respects, ac- 
cording to the standards of our day, any more than 
it would be reasonable for us to gauge their intellec- 
tual powers and attainments by the irregular habits 
of spelling that prevailed. There was no English 
dictionary ^ to create or authoritatively recognize a 

1 Bailey's English Dictionary, published in 1728, was the first at- 
tempt to give a full collection of the words of the language. It was for 
a long time the only dictionary in use among English speaking people, 
but was superseded by Dr. Johnson's great work, published in 1755. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 133 

standard orthography, and even among scholars, uni- 
formity in spelling was not then deemed the virtue 
that it now is. 

In short, under all the circumstances, it is no cause 
for wonder, that for a time the practical advantages 
of learning were so slight, to men of ordinary stations 
in life, that interest in the education of the young 
languished and seemed almost dead. All New 
England was for a while overshadowed by ignorance 
and credulous superstition, which, probably, in Con- 
cord assumed their mildest forms. At all events, 
we may be thankful that, when the clouds rolled 
away, and the human mind reasserted itself in a de- 
mand for knowledge, no blind delusion had left a 
permanent blot on the town's escutcheon. 

Since Concord has sometimes been called the para- 
dise of poor people, the early charities of the town 
are entitled to some notice at our hands. 

William Halsted, dying in the year 1645, be- 
queathed 

" Unto the poore of the towne of Concord fyve pound to be 
la3''d out in a Cow, w^^ I would have So ordered by the Deacons 
& my executors that it may be a continual help to such as are 
in need God giveing a blessing thereunto." ^ 

That the testator's wishes were faithfully complied 
with, appears from the following extracts from the 
records. The first is dated July 13, 1698. 

The Selectmen being enformed of y® great p^'sent want of 
Thomas Pellit they gave order unto Stephen Hosmer to deliver 

1 Suffolk Probate Records, i. 36. 



134 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



a Town Cow unto sd pellit for his present supply, who accord- 
ingly delivered a cow upon y^ account afors^ unto him sd pellit 
which cow is of a black couler, a white face with black spotts 
Round each eye, & sd cow is to continue w^^ sd peUit so long as 
s^ selectmen Judge necessary." 

Again, in 1711, the selectmen ordered Daniel Eoss 

" to drive y® Town Cow (which was with s^ Ross) to Heze- 
kiah flaetcher there to be wintered out att the Town^ charge 
which accordingly was done.' 



" 1 



When the second divisions were settled, in 1654, 
it was agreed 

' ' that all poore men in the Towne that have not Comones to 
the numbar of foure shall be alloued so many as amounts to foure, 
with what they have all Redy ; shall have till they be able to 
purchis for themselues ; or untell the Townesmen shall see Case 
to take it from them ; and bestow it on others that want ; And 
we mene those poore men ; that at the psent are householdres." 

The will of Kobert Meriam, who died in 1682, con- 
tains the following clause : 

" I give to the poor of the Town of Concord four pounds in 
Corne." 

The early settlers of America were quick to be- 
lieve stories of marvellous productions and discoveries. 
Behef in the existence of mines of gold, silver, and 
other minerals, was ever present to them, and acted 
as a lively incentive to new efforts. In other quarters, 
expeditions were planned and conducted by old men 
in search of the fountain of youth, and in the ex- 
tract from Johnson already quoted,^ we are informed 

1 See agreement with John Cotton, Ante, p. 26. ^ j^^te, p. 4. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 135 

that even the pioneer families of Concord were 
cheered, on their journey from Watertown, " with 
hopes of a new and strange discovery, expecting 
every houre to see some rare sight never seen 
before." 

In many respects, as we have already perceived, 
their hopes were to be disappointed. It remains for 
us to explore the attempts that were made to dis- 
cover valuable minerals within the bounds of Concord. 

The legislative body, by a vote passed October 14, 

1657, granted to the inhabitants of Concord ^^ 

" liberty to erect one or more iron workes vf^Hn the Ijmits of 
theire oune toune bounds, or in any comon place neere there- 
vnto." 1 

Operations were begun under this authority, but 

it appears that the franchise was not deemed liberal 

enough, for, in 1660, the Court made the following 

order : — 

'' In answer to the petition of the company in partnership in 
the iron- works at Concord, the Court judgeth it not meete to 
graunt theire request, i. e., liberty to digg mine in any mans 
propriety without theire consent ; yett being willing to encourage 
the petitioners in so good a worke, doe graunt them free liberty 
to digg mine without molestation in any lands now in the Courts 
possession." ^ 

A company was formed, works were erected at 
Westvale, where the mill of the Damon Manufactur- 
ing Company now stands ; and in a few years the 
proprietors owned more than four hundred acres 
within the old bounds of Concord, and about twelve 

^ Mass. Records, iv. pt. i. 311. 2 7^/^?., iv. pt. i. 429. 



136 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

___ . — . i 

hundred acres, bought, for the most part, of Major 

Willard, and lying principally in the town's New j 

Grant, but partially in Sudbury.^ I 

The bog ore discovered in this territory, specimens | 
of which may still be found, was ascertained to be ; 
inferior in quality, and not sufficiently remunerative i 
to the adventurers. Joseph Jenckes was prominent ; 
in carrying on the works, the unprofitable character , 
of which may be inferred from the fact that, in the > 
year 1668, Joseph Wormwood, brother-in-law of , 
Jenckes, and employed by him at the iron works, 
received formal notice from the selectmen that he 
was not considered a desirable inhabitant for the ] 
town, and was requested to depart. This proceeding | 
was strictly according to the statute and custom, and | 
was resorted to, in order to prevent the person so I 
warned from becoming a charge to the town. The 
reasons assigned for giving the notice in Wormwood's ; 
case were, that he had no property in town, and that i 
the prospect for the business in which he was en- 
gaged was not considered good.^ : 

Peter Bulkeley, Esquire, owned an interest in the | 
works, at his decease, but in 1701 James Kussell, of 

Charlestown, who appears to have become the sole ] 

owner of the property, is found conveying parcels to ] 

Samuel Wright, John Barker, Jr., Samuel Jones, I 

Ephraim Jones, and Jonathan Knight.^ t 

1 Middlesex Deeds, L. 9, f. 70. | 

2 County Court Files. 
8 Middlesex Deeds, L. 12, f. 599, 634; L. 13, f. 43. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 137 



A deposition which was taken April 9, 1697, and 
is preserved in the manuscript archives of the State/ 
informs us that one Augustus Leihtenegger " did at- 
tend the work of a mine or minerall at a place called 
fair haven within the Limitts of the Towne of 
Concord/' for the term of six months, under a con- 
tract entered into with Herman and Hezekiah Usher, 
merchants, of Boston ; and that he ^- did in the winter 
last past build a bridge at his own charge to facilitate 
his passage too and from Said worke." A house 
built for the accommodation of the workmen was 
called " the Mine house/' and the scene of the exca- 
vations is still known by the name of Mine Hill. It 
is situated on the farm of George H. Wright, near 
the bridge at Nine- Acre Corner, where copper ore is 
now found in the deep excavation made almost two 
hundred years ago, in the vain hope, which was 
cherished by so many of the first planters of New 
England, that the earth would be found to compen- 
sate for its lack of fertility by disclosing mineral 
wealth. 

The road to Shawshine Corner ran across a brook 
called Tar-kiln Brook, a name not uncommon in the 
old towns, and arising from the practice of tapping 
the large pine trees to obtain the material from 
which turpentine and tar were manufactured. 

In estimating the resources of the town, in colo- 
nial times, it should be noted that there was little 
need to go elsewhere for manufactured articles. 

1 Volume 88, p. 147. 



138 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Cloth for garments was made at home from the 
wool of sheep that browsed on Concord hills. The 
operations of tanning and currying hides, and mak- 
ing the leather into boots and shoes, were all carried 
on within a radius of a few rods. Carpenters built 
houses and barns, and made chairs, tables, trenchers, 
spoons, and various other kinds of wooden ware. 
Blacksmiths fashioned nails, hooks, hinges, latches, 
and bolts, to be used in the construction of build- 
ings. Smoking kilns supplied lime and bricks, and 
three or four saw-mills in various parts of the town 
were busily clearing the land of the forest growth, 
and thus supplying a large quantity of lumber for an 
ever increasing variety of uses. 

Upon complaint made in the year 1660, for want 
of a public house, a license was obtained in October, 
for Sergeant William Buss, to keep a house of com- 
mon entertainment^ at a place on, or very near 
to, the site of the hotel kept in modern times by 
Joseph Holbrook. 

The application was indorsed by the selectmen as 
follows ^ : — 

*' To the honoi-ed Con meeting at Cambridge Octob'' 2^ 1660. 

The hono^'ed Co^t may bee pleased hereby to understand that 
wee, the Selectmen of this Towne of Concord whose names are 
here under written have beene solicitous to Indeavor the settling 
of an ordinary-keeper in our towne, and have found much diffi- 
cult^^ in securing such an one as wee could rest well satisf^'ed 
in for such a place. Butt having p'^vailed w^^ the Bearer hereof 
Serjeant Busse to keepe it for this yeare past, wee have also 

1 County Court Records. ^ Ihid. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 139 

p^cured him to keepe it for a yeare longer ; only hee desireth to 
bee free from any engagement to sell wine & strong waters. 
Oct: 1: 1660. 

Robert Meriam 
Robert ffletcher 
George Wheeler 
James hosmer 

W^^ the Consent of the Rest." 

It seems that honest Buss did not lose his repug- 
nance to the business of liquor selling, for in 1664, 
when the selectmen requested a renewal of his 
license, they desired that it might be limited to 
keeping " a house of comon entertainment ; " and, 
as he was not '^ willing to keepe wine and Liquors," 
they asked that Eobert Meriam might have a Hcense 
"to retale wine and Liquors for the nessesary use 
of the towne and travilers." The court granted a 
general license to Buss to keep a public house, but 
does not appear to have acted upon the request to 
license Meriam.^ It may or may not be encourag- 
ing, to learn that the practical treatment of the 
liquor question at that day involved many of the 
same difficulties with which later generations have 
become familiar. 

In 1670, the selectmen requested that John Hey- 
wood might be allowed " to keep a house of enter 
tainment for strangers for nights loging, beer, and 
sider," also that Eobert Meriam might be impow- 
ered " to sell wine & strongwater to those that are 
sick or weeke & stand in need of our owne towne, 

1 County Court Files. 



140 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

& strangers that want." The same year Michael 
Wood, " clerk of the Iron- works/' was licensed to 
sell strong liquors to the laborers connected with the 
works.^ 

Two years afterwards, "John Haywood ordnary 
keeper at Concord renewed his license/' and had 
liberty granted him " to retaile strong waters to 
travellers & sicke persons/' upon giving a bond.^ He 
lived on the lot that was occupied, until recently, by 
the Bigelow Tavern, and we first learn of him as 
keeper of a pubHc house, in the year 1666. 

In attempting to enumerate the amusements of 
the people of Concord, in colonial times, one is not 
embarrassed by wealth of materials. It was not 
merely that anything humorous lacked encourage- 
ment, it was actively frowned upon. A profound 
impression is produced upon the student who, after 
searching in vain for evidence that the colonists some- 
times saw the ludicrous side of things, is compelled 
to recognize the almost entire absence of humor, 
that characterizes the records, writings, and books 
of the period. 

Cotton Mather, indeed, perpetrates execrable puns, 
that provoke merriment by their very poverty of wit ; 
but it is generally true that whatever amuses us in 
the annals of these times, does so, wholly, because 
of our altered point of view, and the marked differ- 
ence of our surroundings. We are led to the belief 
that the actors in the scenes depicted on the records 

1 County Court Files. 2 i^id. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 141 

looked upon life as a very serious and sad affair ; 
but not the less did they exert themselves to do 
their duty according to the light afforded them, with 
a martyr-like fortitude, the effect of which is en- 
hanced by the dreary back-ground. 

Theological and doctrinal discussions had great 
charms for our ancestors, and the Bible afforded 
endless themes for conversation. The ordinaries 
slowly grew into favor as places of resort for the 
less sober members of the community, who there 
stimulated their faculties with wine or strong water 
(this was before the day of New-England rum), and 
indulged in a style and subjects of conversation some- 
what less strict than were allowed elsewhere. The 
writer has found no indication of the prevalence 
of any kind of games or sports in Concord, but an 
apprentice in one of the adjoining towns was com- 
plained of by his master, in 1666, for "playing att 
nine pins & cudgells" at the house of a neighbor, 
during one entire day, and until nine o'clock at 
night. 

There were, no doubt, pleasant gatherings about 
the spacious fire-places, when neighbors talked to- 
gether of the crops and the cattle, and the last story 
about the Indians was told with bated breath. There 
is ample evidence that the men, both young and old, 
were not insensible to the gentle influence of the 
other sex ; for marriages were entered into early in 
life, families were large, and second and third mar- 
riages were not uncommon. An unmarried man of 



142 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

a certain age was regarded with suspicion, and in 

1670, Thomas Tally, who had hved four years in 

Concord, was summoned to court " to answer for his 

long absence from his wife." ^ Being presented in 

due form for this offence by the Grand Jury, he 

submitted the following petition : — 

" The Humble petition of Thomas Tally 

Humbly sheweth That the sayd Tally did intend to have gone 

for England to his wife the last fall but that a neighbour of 

Concord went for England and into the same parts where she 

liveth, by whome, the sa3'd Tally sent to and for his wife and 

expects a returne b}' the same person : and if he have no answer, 

this returne of the ships he doth intend to go for England at the 

fall if not before and if the honoured Court shall please beare 

with him till that time yo^ petitioner will be farther engaged to 

pray &c. 

Thomas Tally." 

The magistrates were unmoved by his entreaties, 
and although poor Tally begged to the last that he 
might be allowed more time in which to collect the 
money that was due him, and for further opportunity 
to hear from his wife, the decree went forth that 
banished him from the jurisdiction. 

Viewed from this distance, the betrothals and 
marriages wear a sombre and business-like look. 
Both law and public sentiment regarded marriage 
as a civil contract and nothing more. The ceremony 
was not performed by ministers, but by lay magis- 
trates, or persons specially appointed and commis- 
sioned for that purpose by the General Court, on the 
petition of the Selectmen.^ 

1 County Court Files. 2 gg^ Mass. Archives, v. 35, p. 304. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 143 

An account of a marriage contract is preserved 
among the Middlesex Deeds.^ Peter Wright^ who 
was one of the parties chiefly interested, was a 
weaver, and died January 15, 1718, aged fifty-three; 
therefore, at the time of making the following agree- 
ment, he was eighteen years of age. He devised 
property to the town, which was the nucleus of the 
fund for the Silent Poor. 

"Wee whose names are underwritten do testify that wee 
being at Edward Wright's house at Concord in New England 
December 31 1683 the s^ Edward Wright Sen^ & Widdow 
Lambson of the same Towne did both of them before us give 
free consent that Peter Wright son of the s^ Edward Wright & 
Elizabeth Lambson might joj'ne themselves in marriage when 
they pleased observing the Orders here established for that end. 
And at the same time Edward Wright did give unto his son 
Peter for his portion before us All his land & meadow on the 
Easterl}^ side the Brooke,^ bounded with the Brook, North Eiver, 
Widdow Lambson's land & John Smedlys land only reserving 
to himself & his other two sons free liberty to make use of the 
Timber Brush & Gravell upon that land & the use of one halfe 
the meadow till Edward Wright Jun'^ & Samuel Wright should 
flow theyr meadow & the s<^ Peter to joyne with them according 
to his meadow and Widdow Lambson at the same time before 
us did engage to make her daughter Elizabeths portion worth 
ten pounds upon her marriage-day with Peter Wright afores*^. 
What is above written was in the presence & approved by 
Edward Wright Sen^ & his wife, Widdow Lambson & all 
Edward Wrights Sen^^ Sons, and Robert Blood for to stand 
good for the fulfilling of what is abovewritten in all respects, 
Peter Wright paying to his sister Sarah ten pounds when she 

1 L. 9, f. 78. 

2 Land now owned by the Commonwealth, in the west part of the 
town. 



144 CONCORD IX THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



comes to age in common pay as it shall then go between man & 
man here in Concord. Edward Wright also engaged to make 
his son Peters portion worth thirty pounds upon his marriage 

day. 

John Smedly Sen^ 
James Smedly " 

Sworn to "18:4:1684.'* 

We know that the grim surroundings did not alto- 
gether quench the frolicsome spirits of children, 
although, unfortunately, the evidence comes to us 
from the court records. There, clothed in the quaint 
idioms that prevailed at the time, is an account of a 
practical joke played upon a worthy family, who lived 
nearly opposite to the meeting-house, and, for the 
promotion of other people's fun, were compelled to 
forego their Sunday dinner. It was in 1678.^ 

' ' Thomas Pellet & Mary his wife appearing in court do upon 
their oaths say & attest, that the last Sabbath day was a fort- 
night, some young persons being at their house at noon time 
when the Sacrament was administering their pot being boiling 
over their fire, when they came to take of the same, they found 
it much abused, & that tobacco smaller & greater pieces they 
found therein, whereby the provisions therein was made unfit 
to be eaten, & that some of their children tasting of some little 
thereof, became sick & vomited. Also they both add that when 
they came to take notice of their pot, thej^ observed that Mary 
Power, Hannah Stannup & Peter Rice did laugh & nicker." 

Eight persons were fined for this " rudeness " and 
" mischeife done to y^ victualls of Thomas Pellet on 
y® Lord's day." In the margin of the record is : 
" Concord men for spoyling Pellet's dinn''." 

1 County Court Records. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 145 

In the early colonial days, no one could vote, or 
hold office, or even serve as juryman, until he had 
been admitted a freeman, and none could be so 
admitted, except members of the churches.^ This 
extraordinary rule was departed from (though slowly 
and reluctantly), because it was found that a strict 
enforcement of it would exclude a majority of the 
adult male population from taking part in the doings 
of the body politic.^ 

A more liberal practice crept in, by which per- 
sons who had taken the oath of fidelity to the 
commonwealth, were allowed the privilege of voting 
in military and town affairs, and of holding town 
office. It was by no means strange, therefore, that 
before many years the applications to be admitted 
freemen of the commonwealth almost ceased. 

It is, however, interesting to observe that the 
practice was revived in 1689, after the forfeiture of 
the old charter, and before the government of the 
Province was established. In the spring of that year, 
the selectmen of Concord made the following return 
of the non-freemen who were free-holders, possess- 
ing houses and lands of the yearly value of six 
pounds.^ 

^ Hutchinson, i. 30; Lechford; 3 Mass. Hist. Soc. Colls, viii. 191, 
237. 

2 Winthrop, ii. 209, Savage's note. Hutchinson says that this re- 
quirement was continued in force, until the dissolution of the govern- 
ment under Andros, " it being repealed in appearance only, after the 
restoration of King Charles the Second." History, p. 31. 

3 Mass. Archives, v. 35, p. 352. 

10 



146 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 



" In Concord y© 3 of l^t nuinth 16|f 
An acount taken of the nonfrremen which are free holders, 
whos housing and Lands do amount to the uallew of six pounds 
rante by the year. 



Mr Jams Minerd 
Danell Dane 
Thomas gobile, S[enior] 
Robord Blood, S 
John "wheler, S 
Nemiah hunt, S 
Samuell Davis, S 
John Shaperd, S 
Abraham Tempel 
Recherd Tempel 
Isaac Tempel 
Simon Davis 
Roberd Blood 
Simon Blood 
Josiah Blood 
Judath poter 
John Jones 



Nathanell Stow 
Nathaell Harwood 
Eliphelet fox 
John Ball 
Samuel flecher 
Timithy Ries 
Samuell Stratten 
Johnethen habord 
Joshua Wheler 
James Smadly 
Nathanell Buse 
John wood 
Abraham wood 
Obadiah wheler 
John Ilaward 
Thomas Wheler 
Steuen Hosmer 
John Hartwill 



Thomas: Wheeler: " 

HOMPHARY BaRET 

Nathaniel : Billing : )- Select men 
Steuen Hosmor ] 

Eliphelet ffox J 

21« March. 1689. Voted by the Court to be ffremen 

Ebenezer Prout, Clerk. 
Consent? 

Js* Addington SeC^." 

Accompanying this document is a certificate written 
and signed by the minister of the town, which runs 
as follows : ^ 



1 Mass. Archives, v. 35, p. 352. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 147 

" Concord March 12tti fa 

All whom y® knowledge of what is here exp^ssed doth con- 
cerne may please hereby to understand, that y® :psons here 
named are members in the full comunion of the church ; Leiften* 
Simon Davis, Leiften* Jonathan Prescot, Joseph ffrench, Thomas 
Pellet, Samuel Hunt ; Eliezer fflag, Samuel Hartwell, Samuel 
Myriam, John Wheeler, Samuel How, Abraham Taylor, John 
Ha3^ward, Nathaniel Ball, Samuel Wheate, Timothy Wheeler, 
John Myriam, Daniel Pellet ; Wittnesse my hand : 

Edward Bulkely." 

"22d March, 1689. 

All above written (Except Daniel Pellet) voted to be ffree- 
men. 

his age being questioned. Js^ Addington Sec^y. 

Ebenezer Prout Clerk. 

From these interesting documents, taken together, 
we may infer that the thirty-five men, whose names 
appear in the first list, were not members of the 
church, although four of the selectmen of that year 
are included in the number. Indeed, almost all the 
early families that survived had a representative on 
this list of the unchurched, and every name stands for 
an owner of property, — a man whose interests were 
thoroughly identified with the prosperity of the town. 
This return shows us, as nothing else could do, how 
completely the old forms and regulations had been 
outgrown and quietly allowed to become obsolete. 

It is also seen, with no less clearness, that now, 
when the old charter had been destroyed by its 
enemies, albeit under due process of law,^ and Sir 

^ The proceedings against the Massachusetts Company were by in- 
formation in the nature of a quo warranto, based upon supposed neglect 



148 CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Edmund Andros^ as Governor, was sailing the ship of 
state, with no rudder or compass but his own will, 
which never yet had coincided with the will of the 
people whom he was governing, a new interest was 
felt by the colonists in the forms prescribed by the 
old charter, under which, notwithstanding its defects, 
they derived title to all their worldly possessions. 

There can be no doubt that great injustice has 
been done to the memory of Andros ; ^ but when rev- 
olution had been decided upon, inasmuch as he was 
the immediate representative of a bad government at 
home, the people were fally justified in treating him 
as part of the thing to be reformed. 

He had exerted himself to procure the overthrow 
of the charter, which was revered by the people as 



or abuse of the company's franchises. The suit was begun in 1683, 
and judgment of forfeiture was ordered on June 18, 1684, on default 
of the defendant; but further time was allowed for an appearance. 
Secretary Edward Rawson did not receive official notice of the court's 
final decision until July 2, 1685. Hutchinson, i. 305, 306. 

A commission from the King arrived in the Rose frigate on May 
15, 1686, appointing a provisional government for the colony, consist- 
ing of a Council of which Joseph Dudley was to be President. 

Sir Edmund Andros arrived on December 9, 1G86, in the Kingfisher, 
bearing commissions as governor of the whole of New England. His 
government was subverted in April, 1689; and on May 14, 1692, Sir 
William Phips arrived in Boston with the charter creating the Province 
of the Massachusetts-Bay in New England, which remained in force 
until the Revolution of 1775. 

1 " A careful examination of the life of Andros will probably con- 
vince the student that he was a brave and loyal servant of the crown, 
a devout but not bigoted churchman, and very far from being the 
tyrant that New England traditions have portrayed." Sewall's Diary, 
i. 175, note. 



CONCORD m THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 149 

their palladium. For his own emolument, he in- 
creased the fees a.nd other expenses incident to the 
transaction of public business and the settlement of 
estates. The Governor and Council laid taxes with- 
out consulting those who were to pay them, and 
town meetings were prohibited, except for the pur- 
pose of choosing officers once a year, or to comply 
with the Governor's orders. 

It is possible, though not probable, that these vio- 
lations of the old order might have been submitted 
to, in preference to a resort to revolutionary vio- 
lence ; but the smouldering embers of popular dis- 
content were fanned into a destructive flame, when 
Andros, undoubtedly acting under instructions from 
the home government, declared all the land titles 
null and void. Did the colonists urge a purchase 
from the Indians, he answered that he cared no more 
for an Indian signature than for "the scratch of a 
bear's paw." The argument from long-continued 
occupation, under a claim of right, was dismissed 
with the answer, that no length of possession could 
make valid a grant from one who had no title. 

With the proverbial timidity of capital, some of 
the owners of large estates, in Boston and elsewhere, 
bowed to the Governor's dictum, and asked that their 
titles might be confirmed to them at a nominal quit- 
rent, wdiich was accordingly done, on the payment 
of substantial fees. But the mass of the people 
held aloof from this recognition of the theory that 
king or courtier could show a better title to the 



150 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

lands that had been reclaimed from the wilderness 
by the exertions of their fathers, and defended by 
their own arms. They turned a cold shoulder upon 
men who, like Samuel Sewall, were in other respects 
worthy of honor, and in full sympathy with the de- 
sire for a return to the old order of things under 
the colony charter, but had not the courage to risk 
all that they possessed, in a contest with the repre- 
sentatives of the crown.-^ With characteristic sim- 
plicity Sewall writes : " The generality of People are 
very averse from complying with anything that may 
alter the Tenure of their Lands, and look upon me 
very sorrowfully that I have given away." ^ 

The Revolution that expelled James 11. from the 
throne of England afforded the opportunity desired 
by the colonists, who rose almost as one man, to 
defend their homes and the rights of Englishmen. 
In 1689, on the Nineteenth of April, an oft-recur- 
ring date in American history, the Concord people 
despatched their military company to Boston, under 
the command of Lieutenant John Heald, to assist in 
the revolt.^ The revolution was accomplished with- 
out blood-shed, but a valuable precedent was estab- 
lished for America, as well as for England. For 

1 It is believed that no one in Concord petitioned for a confirma- 
tion of title, with the exception of Rebecca, widow of Peter Bulkeley, 
Esquire, who, in 1688, joined with Thomas Hinchman in a petition for 
the confirmation of their title to " the moiety or one half part of the 
Indian Plantation called Nashobah." Mass. Archives, v. 128, p. 266. 

2 Diary, i. 231, note. 

3 Shattuck, p. 66. 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 151 

the first, but not for the last time^ on this continent, 

" English law and English thought 
'Gainst the self-will of England fought." 

The overthrow of the Andros administration left 
the colonists without any legal or de facto govern- 
ment, and, true to their instincts, the towns met 
in convention, on May 22d, to consider the state of 
affairs. The people of Concord defined their posi- 
tion in a striking and truly characteristic manner. 
They were duly represented in the convention, 
which decided to reinstate the government chosen 
under the charter in 1686, and to wait for orders 
from the new king and queen in England.^ 

This action of the convention was foreshadowed, 
two days earlier, in the vote of the freeholders of 
this town, as shown by the following certificate of 
the Selectmen ^ : — 

" May 20th i689. 

Att a meeting of the ffree-Holders of the Towne of Concord, 
wee do mutually desire that according as wee have declared our- 
selves b}^ a writeing sent by the Hands of our representatives, 
that our old authority chosen & sworn in the year 1686 w*^ the 
deputy es then chosen & sent to the court may reasume their 
places and if that cannot be attained, our desires is that that a 
councell of war maj' be chosen & settled by our representi- 
tives when met together att boston w^^ the rest of the repre- 
sentitives of the country. 

1 Ebenezer Prout of Concord, was made " Clerk to the Representa- 
tives," and as such, signed the order for the removal of Andros to the 
Castle, on June 6, 1689. Mass. Archives, v. 107, p. 84. 

2 Mass. Archives, v. 107, p. 44. 



152 CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Signed the date above mentioned being then a generall voat 
of the freeholders of this Town. 

Thomas Wheeler 
Steven Hosmer 
Joseph French 

Select men in y® name of y^ Rest." 

The votes of other towns were sufficiently firm in 
their tone, showing a due appreciation of the serious 
condition of pubhc affairs, and affirming the popular 
view of the questions involved. They were, how- 
ever, couched in general terms, and the official com- 
munication from the Concord Selectmen, as given 
above, — ill-spelled and ungrammatical as it is, — 
was the only formal declaration sent to the seat of 
government, of readiness to go to war in defence 
of popular rights. 

The emergency was an education. The citizens 
forgot their dislike of free speech ; their minds were 
lifted out of the range of petty scandal and neigh- 
borhood gossip, to loftier considerations of the welfare 
of the race. They were ennobled by the occasion, 
and when the rights of Englishmen were assailed, 
stood shoulder to shoulder, as if they recognized 
the immense simificance of their action to future 
generations of men. 

It was not difficult for the people of Concord to 
take this stand. It was the way of their ancestors, 
established long years before in the old country; 
and the sons were but giving expression, in their 
day and generation, to the ancient Kentish spirit, 



CONCORD IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 153 

which had already become the spirit of Massachu- 
setts, and was destined at a later day to animate a 
great nation. 

" The Puritan Spirit, perishing not, 

To Concord's yeomen the signal sent. 
And spake in the voice of the cannon shot. 
That severed the chains of a continent." 



INDEX. 



AaNTONUISH, 14. 

Acton, 54 ; its eastern boundary, 7, 8, 65; part of, joined to Carlisle, 8. 
Adams, John, 71; his house, 71, 73; sells estate to Stratton, 87. 

Samuel, 15. 

Thomas, sells estate to Stratton, 87. 
Allen, Thomas, grant to, 61, 65. 
Amusements, 140, 141. 
Andros, Sir Edmund, Governor, 148; his character and proceedings, 

148, 149 ; his government subverted, 148, 150. 
Angler's Mills, 15. 
Annursnack Hill, 70, 103. 
Atawans, 16. (See Tahatowan.) 



Baker, Wllliam, his house-lot, 86. 
Ball, John, 125, 146. 

Nathaniel, 32, 83, 147; his house-lot, 87. 
Barker, Francis, his dwelling-place, 86. 

John, his dwelling-place, 86; Junior, 136. 
Barnes, John, killed by Indians, 105. 

Barrett, Humphrey, 20; his house-lot, 88; ensign, 127; selectman, 
146. 

Widow, 73. 
Barron, John, 35. 
Bateman, Thomas, 40, 83; on committee to divide highways, &c., 70; 

overseer, 76 ; his house-lot, 88. 
Bateman's Pond, 83. 

Bay Road, The, 80 ; house-lots on, 86, 87. 
Beaver Dam, 79. 

Pond, 10, 32, 82, 95. 
Bedford, 8, 9, 61; plan of, 6; its bounds in part, 10. 
Beers, Richard, 53 ; his return of land, 54. 



156 INDEX. 



Bellows, John, 73. 
Bennett, James, 35. 
Berry Corner, 8. 
Bigelow Tavern, 140. 

Billerica, 6, 54, 61, 84, 113, 114; extracts from its records, 9; bounds 
renewed with, 9; old line of, 6, 10; bridge, 77; road, 80; old 
line of, 6, 10; collects rates of the Bloods, 62; new grant to, 65; 
controversy with Concord and the Bloods, 65, 66. 
Billings, John, 20. 

Nathaniel, 99; his house-lot, 87; selectman, 146; Junior, 73. 
Births, record of, 21. 
Blackbirds, destruction of, 19. 
Black Point, 125. 
Blood, Elizabeth, 51, 65. 

James, 40, 57, 59; sergeant, on committee to divide highways, 
&c., 70; his second division, 82; his house-lot, 88; his servant, 
103; Junior, his second division, 82; his house-lot, 88. 
John, part-owner of Blood's Farms, 62. 
Josiah, 65, 146. 

Robert, 143, 146; his petition, 51; acquires land, 62; pays rates 
in Concord and Billerica, 62-64 ; assaults Concord oflBcers, 63 ; 
his agreement with Concord, 64; his controversy with Concord 
and Billerica about bounds, 65, 66; Junior, 63, 64, 146. 
Samuel, 65. 
Simon, 64, 146. 
Blood's Farms, bounds of, 6; how acquired, 61, 62; taxed by Concord, 
63; annexation of, 64, 65; their bounds, how renewed, 65; 
occupants seek shelter in Concord, 104. 
Bohow, Benjamin, 58. 

Sarah, 58. 
Books, belonging to town, 19, 128; reading of, 130. 
Boston, road to, 80. 
Brick-kiln field, 19, 67. 

Bridge, foot, over North River, 19; over South River, 69, 70; North 
River, land reserved for, 70; assigned to East Quarter, 74; 
carried away by flood, 78. 
Bridges, support of, 69 ; assigned to the quarters, 74; county, 77; their 

location, 77, 78; over Mill Brook, &c., 79; allowance for, 79. 
Brooke, Caleb, his dwelling-place, 87. 
Gershom, 20. 

Joshua, 20; his dwelling-place, 87. 

Thomas, 1; on committee for valuing cattle, 37; to divide 
highways, &c., 70; other committees, 52, 66; takes second 
division in East Quarter, 68, 71; land assigned to, 73; sells 
estate to Wheeler, 87; licensed to sell liquor to Indians, 101. 



INDEX. 157 

Brookfield, fight at, 108-113. 

Brook Meadow, 85; farm so called, 91. 

Brooks, Noah, 58. 

Browmick, Castle, 89. 

Brown, Abishai, fences Hill Burying-Ground, 99. 

Browne, Thomas, 66 ; on town committee, 9; ensign, 99; wounded by- 
Indians, 105, 124. 

Bulkeley, Rev. Edward, 90; petitioner, 78; attorney for his brother, 82; 
succeeds his father, 24; new agreement of town with him, 25; 
criticisms of him, 31; spelling of the name, 41; his house-lot, 
88; his certificate, 147. 
Grace, her embarkation, 1; sells estate to "Wheelers, 89; Buss's 
deed to her, 94; her dispute with town about mill privilege, 96. 
Rev. John, returns to England, 37. 

Rev. Peter, his embarkation, 1; his English home, 3; founder of 
Concord, 1; chosen teacher, 2, 3; name, how spelled, 42; treaty 
with Indians at his house, 12, 14, 16; sole pastor, 24; his sal- 
ary, z&. ; writes petition in Martin's case, 28; his conduct in 
Jones matter, 36; death and burial, 41, 43; character and posi- 
tion, 42-45; his letters, 42, 43; his attitude towards the Indians, 
100; his rate, 76; his farm, 81; buys estate of Hayward, 85; 
his dwelling-place, 68, 86, 89, 131; his library, 128; grants 
to, 94; builds town mill, 94; covenant about mill privilege, 96. 
Peter, Esquire, son of Rev. Edward, 90; chosen to assist in seating 
the meeting-house, 26 ; on committee to treat with the Bloods, 
64 ; name, how spelled, 41 ; his house-lot, 86, 91 ; military offices, 
122, 126; his position and services, 90, 91; his interest in the 
Iron Works, 136 ; bis widow's petition for confirmation of title, 
150. 
Peter, of London, apothecary, 82. 
Rebecca, petitions for confirmation of title, 150. 

Bulkeley 's Farm, 82. 

Burgess, Thomas, 89 ; his house-lot, 86. 

Burial-Hill, The, 86, 97. 

Burying-Grounds, 88; their age, 97, 98; fencing them, 98, 99. 

Buss, Joseph, 124. 
Nathaniel, 146. 

William, 3, 28, 73 ; keeps ordinary but declines to sell liquor, 138, 
139; chirurgeon, 30; his house-lot, 88, 31; overseer, 76; his deed 
to Grace Bulkeley, 94; keeps mill, 95; ensign, 125; his petition, 
126; lieutenant, 127. 

Buttrick, Joseph, killed by Indians, 105. 

William, his embarkation, 1 ; his English home, 3 ; opposes division 
of highways, 70 ; his testimony, 13, 17 ; his house-lot, 88 ; released 
from training, 121. 



158 INDEX. 

Ca ATO, alias Goodmans, 16 ; sells Sudbury five miles, 16. 

Cade, Jack, 47. 

Cambridge, 15, 84, 108; grant to, 50. 

Farms, road to, 80. 
Carlisle, 54, 62, 65; District of , 8; incorporated, 8. 
Carts, impressment of, 5. 

r^ , r James and Sarah, 59, 60. 

Casumpat > ' 

Catechizing of children, &c., 24, 129. 

Cattle, how herded and pastured, 19, 20, 103; commons for, 55; brand- 
ing of, 103; dry, pasturing of, 56. 

Cedar Swamp, 9. 

Chambers, Charles, 82. 

Charities, early, 133, 134. 

Charlestown, 15, 41; road to, 80. 

Charter, of the Colony, its dissolution, 90; proceedings against, 147, 
148; of the Province, 148. 

Chelmsford laid out, 51, 54, 55, 59, 62, 66, 113, 124; bridge, 77. 

Church, The, organization of, 3, 22, 23; not transplanted, 2; affairs 
of, how conducted, 26 ; petition of, 28, 29 ; advised by Boston 
elders, 35; how affected by Mr. Jones's removal, 36; members 
of, 147. 

Clark, William, buys land, 94. 

Clerk of the Writs, 21. 

Cliffs, The, 67. 

Colburn house-lot, 81, 85. 

Commissioners for the Colonies, their order, 2; for improving mea- 
dows, 34; to end small matters, 20. 

Common, The, line of, 94; encroached upon by mill-pond, 92. 

Commons, habitations privileged with, to be recorded, 19 ; votes of town 
about, 55; not to be overcharged, 20; to be used for repair of 
mill damage, 94, 97; cow, defined, 68; to be allowed to poor 
men, 134. ' 

Comy, Daniel, killed by Indians, 105. 

Concord, first inland plantation, 50; name of, 5; immunity from pub- 
lic charges, 5, 37; Old, map of, 5-10, 32; Wood's plan of, 7; 
map of, by Hales, 7; petition for reduction of rates, 38, 39; en- 
largement of, 50, 52; return of land by, 51; River, 8, 9, 10, 61, 
71 ; abatement of falls in river, 33 ; sale of weir, &c., at, 16 ; 
fire in, 34; population and resources, 37, 138; rates assessed 
upon, 37; rates reduced, 40; removal from, prohibited, 40; 
petitions for land, 52, 53; old bounds of, 7~10, 32, 59; trouble 
* -with the Bloods about taxes, 63 ; makes agreement with them, 
64, 65; controversy with Billerica and the Bloods, 65, 66; old 
records of, 66; meeting of, about second divisions, 68; divided 



INDEX. 159 



into quarters, 68; object of the division, 69; relieved in part 
from expense of bridges, 77, 79; description of, in 1666, 84; 
men killed by Indians, 105 ; keeps day of thanksgiving, 113 ; 
military preparations at, 114; fined for want of watch-house, 
stocks, &c., 117; magazine at, 114, 119; its military company 
to be exercised, 120 ; its garrison-houses, 123 ; ordered to choose 
a constable in place of Wm. Buss, 127; foot-company of, divided, 
128; education in, 128-133; subscribes for Harvard College, 130; 
gift to, from Capt. Timothy Wheeler, 129, 131; early charities 
of, 133, 134; amusements in, 140; its action at the time of the 
Andros Revolution, 151 ; only town to declare for war, 152. 

Concord Village. (See New Grant.) 

Conoway, Peter and Sarah, 59, 60, 61. • 

Constable, office of, 19. 

Cornfields to be fenced, 19. 

Coslin > ^;jj;^^ 35^ 

Costin > 

Cotton, John, exchanges cows with town, 26. 
Rev. John, 23. 

Court-house, building of, 92, 93. 

Courts, where held, 92. 

Cowdrey, William, 101. 

Cranefield, 19, 67, 68. 

Curry, David, killed by Indians, 105. 

Curtis, Ephraim, 111, 113. 



DaKIN, John, his dwelling-place, 85. 

Joseph, fences burying-places, 99. 

Thomas, 73; sells estate to Heywood, 85; his dwelling-place, ib. 
Dane, Daniel, 146 ; buys farm with Goble, 83. 

Joseph, his dwelling-place, 87. 

Thomas, 73 ; embarks with Mrs. Bulkeley, 1 ; his English home, 
3; his house lot, 71, 74, 86, 93, 97. 
Danforth, Jonathan, his plans, 6; surveys Billerica line, 9; on com- 
mittee to settle mill dispute, 97. 
Davis, Samuel, 146; Junior, 9. 

Simon, 146; his dwelling-place, 89; makes no return of land, 89; 
lieutenant, 127, 147 ; at Brookfield, 110, 111. 
Davy, 103. 

Deaths, record of, 21. 

Dedham, meeting-house at, 22; removal from, prohibited, 40. 
Deer Island, Indians removed to, 115, 117. 
Depositions about Indian purchase, 12-15. 
Deputies, residence of, 20. 



160 INDEX. j 

I 

Divisions, First and Second, 18, 67; how made, 68, 69, 74; not to 

hinder highways, 69. j 

Doggett, Thomas, 35. | 

Dongye Hole, 72, 73. ; 

Dorchester, settlement of, 2. j 

Draper, Goody, convicted, 103. j 

Roger, 38. j 

Dublet, Thomas, convicted, 102. ' 

Dudley, Francis, his dwelling-place, 85 J 

Gov. Joseph, 90; his appointment, 148. i 

Gov. Thomas, his farm, 61. ! 

Dimsdell, 81. - ; 

D'Urfey, Thomas, quoted, 47. 

Dwellings, first, situation of, 18. • 



EaMES family, massacre of, 116. i 

"East End," 75, 76. ' 

" East Quarter Line," 72. j 

Edmonds, Joshua, 70, 73. i 

Walter, 40. j 

Education, 128-133. 
Egg Rock, 71. 
Eliot, Rev. John, 102, 115. 
Elmbrook Meadow, 67. 
Endicott, Gov. John, 29, 45. 
Enfield, 24. 

Enlargement of bounds. (See New Grant.) 
Estabrook, Rev. Joseph, settled as colleague, 24; his burial-place, 43; 

compared with Mr. Edward Bulkeley, 31. 
Evarts, John, 35. 

Fairfield, 35. 

Fairhaven, 73, 83, 103 ; way to, 81; mining operations at, 137. 

Farm-houses, 21. 

Farrar, Jacob, killed by Indians, 105. 

Stephen, 124. 
Farwell, Henry, 28, 68, 71. 

John, his house-lot, 86. 
Fidelity, oath of, substituted for freeman's oath, 145 ; those taking it 

to be recorded, 20. 
Fields, Great Common, 81, 83. 
Fifty- Acre Meadow, 81. 
Fiske, John, at Brookfield, 110. 



INDEX. 161 

Flagg, Eleazer, 147; constable, 63; granted land for tan-pits, 93, 94; 

his house, 131 ; sells land to Clark, 94. 
Fletcher, Francis, 22; his house-lot, 86. 

Hezekiah, 134. 

Joseph, 22, 82. 

Samuel, 82, 146. 

William, his house-lot, 86. 
Flint's Farm, description of, 82; way to, 81. 

Pond, 72, 73, 82; ditch from, 68, 95. 
Flint, John, 20, 26, 57, 59; town clerk, 66; his house-lot, 88; lieu- 
tenant, 125. 

Thomas, 2, 3; his character and services, 45, 46; his death, 41; 
his farm, 82 ; assists Indians, 101. 
Fort Bridge, 79. 
Founell, John, 97. 
Fox, Eliphalet, selectman, 146; his house-lot, 86. 

Thomas, 28, 29. 
Fox's Bridge, 79. 
Freemen, how admitted, 145-147. 
French, Joseph, 9, 147; selectman, 152. 
Frizzell, AVilliam, 85; released from training, 121. 
Frontier Towns, removal from, prohibited, 40; troop for, 122. 
Fuller, William, fined, 94. 
Fur-trade, company for, 17. 

Garfield, Benjamin and Thomas, 32. 

Garrison-houses, their erection and situation, 123. 

Goble, Thomas, 146; buys farm with Dane, 83. 

Gomps, 53. 

" Goodman " and " Goodwife," how applied, 27. 

Goodmans, 16. 

Goodman's Hill, 16. 

Gookin, Gen. Daniel, 46; friend of the Indians, 102, 115; his report 
about them, 117; his report about the Concord military com- 
pany, 127. 

Goose Pond, 68, 72. 

Grammar School, 128. 

Grant, First, 5; map of, 5-10; how laid out, 7, 17; its bounds, 7; 
description of, 17; excess in, as laid out, 11 ; New, 50-61. 

Graves, John, 28. 

Great Common Fields, 81. 

Great James Natocotos, 53. 

Great Meadow, 81, 83. 

Griffin, Richard, 28, 40, 45. 

11 



162 INDEX. 

Groton, road to, 81 ; town destroyed by Indians, 41 ; people seek refuge 
in Concord, 104. 

Habitations privileged with commons, record of, 19. 
Hales, John G. , his survey and map, 7. 
Half-way Brook, 79. 

Halsted, William, his gift to the town, 133. 
Hartford, founders of, 37. 
Hartwell, John, 146 ; his house-lot, 87. 
Samuel, 147. 

William, 20, 78, 123; his house-lot, 87; overseer, 76. 
Harvard College, early graduates, 37; aid to, 130. 
Harwood, Nathaniel, 146. 

Hayward, George, 52, 71, 73, 74, 124; on committee to divide high- 
ways, &c., 70; sells estate to Mr. Bulkeley, 85; overseer, 76; 
his'land, 85; death, ib. ; builds mills, 95; killed by Indians, 105. 
John, 127, 146, 147. 
Joseph, 120. 
Heald, Major Benj. F., 8. 

Dorothy, her house-lot, 88. 
John, 3; his house-lot, 88; lieutenant, 150. 
Hey wood, John, buys estate of Dakin, 85, 88; constable's return, 118; 

keeps ordinary, 139, 140. 
Henry, Indian, convicted, 103. 
Higginson, Rev. Francis, 33. 

Highways, not hindered by second division, 69; division of, 69, 74, 75; 
to be maintained by Quarters, 75; defined, 75, 79-81 ; north of 
Burying- Ground on Main Street, 88; same discontinued, 98. 
Hinchman, Thomas, 122; captain of troop, 125; petitions for confirma- 
tion of title, 150. 
Hingham, meeting-house at, 92. 

Hoar, John, 26, 89; prosecution of, 30, 31; his estate, 89; exchanges 
lands with Wright, 89; takes charge of Indians, 115-117; his 
petition, 117. 
Hog-pen, Old, 70, 81. 
Hog-pens, 103. 
Hog-pen Walk, 68, 70. 
Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 37. 
Horsmonden, 1. 

Hosmer, James, 66, 73; his embarkation, 2; English home, 3; member 
of the church, 28; overseer, 76; his house-lot and farm, 84, 85; 
selectman, 139. 
James, Junior, his farm, 85; killed by Indians, ib., 105. 
Capt. Stephen, 6, 11, 83, 133. 



INDEX. 163 



Hosmer, Stephen, selectman, 146, 152; buys " Brook-Meadow," 91. 
Hough, Atherton, grant to, 61. 

Mrs., 50. 
House-lots, how laid out, 18, 67; location of, 84-89. 
Houses, early, description of, 21; their situation, 37; not to be built 

more than half a mile from meeting-house, except, 21. 
How, Samuel, 124, 147. 

Howe, John, 66. i 

Hubbard, Jonathan, 146. 
Hunt, John, 83. 

Samuel, 147 ; his house-lot, 88. 

William, 3, 40; buys land of Mr. Bulkeley, 86. 

Nehemiah, 20, 146 ; his dwelling-place, 86. 
Hutchinson, Capt. Edward, his expedition, 108. 

Indians, purchase from, 3, 12-16 ; destroy Groton, 41 ; their paths one 
foot broad, 4, 79; treatment of them by colonists, 100-104; sale 
of liquor to them, 101 ; their claim to New Grant extinguished, 
52, 56-60; of Musketaquid, 12; land reserved for, 53; their 
claim to Blood's Farms extinguished, 61 ; their habits and 
occupations, 101; value of their testimony, 103; sales of pork 
by, 104; war with, under Philip, 104-119; Concord men killed 
and wounded by, 105; the attack on the Shepards, 106; fight 
with, at Brookfield,' 108-113; "Praying" suspected, 114; or- 
dered to Deer Island and Concord, 115, 124; taken away by 
Mosley, 116, 117. 

Ingolds, Ebenezer, 60. 

Inheritance, law of, 47. 

Iron Works, 19, 91; authorized in Concord, 135; land of, ib., 136; 
clerk of, 140. 



J AYS, destruction of, 19. 

Jehoiakin, his testimony, 13, 15, 16. 

Jenckes, Joseph, 136. 

Jethro, his testimony, 14, 16. 

John Tahatowon, 53. 

John Thomas, 53, 58, 60. 

Johnson, Capt. Edward, quoted, 3, 4, 18. 

Jones, Ephraim, 136; buys Wright Tavern lot, 92. 

Rev. John, 14, 15, 24, 28; chosen pastor, 23; his removal to 
Connecticut, 35, 39. 

John, 52, 53, 146; his house-lot, 88. 

Samuel, 136 ; clerk of the bona, 127. 



164 INDEX. 



Joseph, 110. 
Josiah, 103. 
Judson, Grace, 22. 

Jeremiah, Joseph, and Joshua, 22. 

William, his lot, 22. 

Kent, County of, 2, 3; shield and motto of, 47; its influence in 

Middlesei, 46-48, 152. 
King Philip's War, 104. 
Knight, Jonathan, 136. 

LaMSON, Elizabeth, 143. 
Widow, 143. 

Lancaster, 7, 41; road, 74, 78, 85; people seek refuge in Concord, 104. 

Land, character of, 33, 34, 38, 39, 50; petition for, by Wheeler and 
others, 38, 49; town's petition for, 50; waste, how rated, 64; 
common and undivided, 83; report about, 83; flowed by mill- 
pond, 96; titles declared void, 149; tenure of, 150; division of, 
18; grants of, how recorded, 84; transcripts of, 84; lease of, 19; 
to be truly brought in, 20; deficiency in, made up, 71, 83. 

Law, John, tenant of town, 55; rent due from him, 19, 20. 
Stephen, tenant of town, 55. 

Lechford, Thomas, quoted, 24. 

Lee, Joseph, 83. 

Leihtenegger, Augustus, works mine at Fairhaven, 137. 

Lettin, Richard, 38. 

Lexington, 48; line of, on Bedford, 10. 

Lincoln, 32; bounds of, in part, 10. 

Liquor, sale of, 101, 138-140. 

Littleton, 54. 

Lovewell's Fight, 113. 

MaNTATUCKET, 14. 

Marlborough, 112; road, 80. 

Marriages, record of, 21 ; how contracted, 141-143. 

Marshall, Capt. Thomas, buys estate of Willard, 41 ; sells to Woodis, 85. 

Martin, Ambrose, prosecution of, 26-30; petition of the church in his 

favor, 28; his house and land sold, 29. 
Mashoba, 52. (See Nashoba.) 
Mason, Capt. Hugh, 105. 

Massachusetts Bay, Colony of, 104; the Province, 148. 
Mather, Rev. Cotton, 27, 140; quoted, 24. 



INDEX. 165 



Meadow, Great, 67; town, 67, 68, 72; reserved for minister, 70. 

Meadows, wetness of, 33, 34, 38, 39; to be protected from animals, 19; 
division of, 67. 

Meeting House, first, timber for, 22; location of, 21, 22, 97; second, 
building of , 19, 91; seating of, 26; description and use of, 92, 
93; weather-vane on, 93. 

*' Meeting-house Frame, The," 22. 

Meeting-house Green, 94. 

Merchant Thomas, 14, 15, 53. 

Meriam, George, 68, 71, 73; his house-lot, 87. 
John, 147; his house-lot, 87. 

Joseph, his gift to the town, 20; his grave-stone, 97. 
Robert, 28, 68, 71, 73; selectman, 139; his gift to the town, 134; 
deacon, 26; his house-lot, 87; on committee to divide highways, 
&c., 70, 
Samuel, 147. 

Middlebrook, Joseph, 35, 40. 

Middlesex County, map of, 7; its population, 46, 48; bridges, 77. 

Miles, John, 20, 73; his house-lot, 88. 

Mill, town, 89, 94-97, 131; houses, 21. 

Mill-pond, how formed, 95; encroaches upon Common, 92. 

'' Mill-dam, The," 95. 

Mill Brook, 18, 78; division line between Quarters, 71, 72; bridges 
over, 79 ; house-lots laid out to, 86 ; pond formed by, 95. 

Military preparations at Concord, 114; draft ordered, 119; company, 
beginning of, 120; duty, persons subject to, z&. ; exemptions, 
121; officers, 121-127; arms, 121; offices and titles, how es- 
teemed, 125; companies reorganized, 125, 127; foot company, 
divided, 128; despatched to Boston, 150. 

Militia, committee of, 123 ; of Concord, their request, 124. 

Mine Hill, 137. 

Mine House, 137. 

Mining operations, 135-137. 

Ministerial wood-lot, 131. 

Ministers, rates for, 19; support of, 35; their ordination, 23; wood 
for, 25; method of settling, 26; their numbers and character, 
36, 37. 

Minott, James, 146; keeps the mill, 95, 131; captain, 127. 
Rebecca, 95, 131. 

Mitchell, Jonathan, 3, 35. 

Mosley, Captain, removes Indians, 116, 117. 

" Mr. and Mrs.," how applied, 27. 

Muckquamack, Peter, 57. 

Musketaquid, 5; meaning of name, 71; settlement at, 1; River, 67, 71; 
name changed to Concord, 5. 



166 INDEX. 



Miittunkatucka, 13. 

Mystic Bridge, 77. . ; 

NaGOG Pond, 55. \ 
Naanonsquaw, 58, 60. 

Naaruhpanit, 57, 59. j 

Narragansett Fort, fight at, 105. 1 

Nashoba Plantation, 14, 51, 55, 59, 105, 106; line of, 54; deserted, | 

117. I 

Brook, 55. \ 

Indians, removal of, 115-117; their return, 117. ' 

Nasquaw, John, 59, 60. ■ 

Natanquaticke, 16. i 

Natick, 14, 57; Indians, 115. 

Natocotos, Great James, 53. 

Nattatawants, grant to, 51; sells land, 62. \ 

Nashawtuck, 14, 67, 81; bridge near, 69, 78. ^ 

Neepanaum, Mary, 57. ; 
New Grant, The, plan of, 6 ; petition and orders for, 50-53; for feeding, l 
52, 103; Indian claim to, 52; laid out by Beers and Noyes, 53, | 
54; to be a free common, &c., 55; deeds of land included in, I 

56-60; bounds of, 65. | 

Nimrod, 14, 15. ] 

Nine- Acre Corner, 81, 137. ! 

Nipmuck Country, 108. ; 

North River, bridges over, 19, 71. \ 

North Quarter, roads in, 81. (See Quarters.) ' j 

Notawquatuckquaw, 14, 15. i 

No well, Increase, grant to, 61, 65. j 

Noyes, Thomas, surveyor, 53, 54. | 
Nssquan, 53. 

Nuttankatucka, 13. ; 



OdELL, village, 1, 42. ' 

Odell, William, 35. 1 

Oldmans, 16. i 

Ordinaries, 138-141. | 

Overseers of the. Quarters, 75, 76. i 



Parker, Moses, 58. 
Pellet, Daniel, 99, 147. 
Mary, 144. 



IN^DEX. 167 



Pellet, Thomas, 147; his dwelling-place, 87; assisted by the town, 133 ; 

loses his dinner, 144. 
Pennsylvania, grants in, how laid out, 11. 
Persons, undesirable, not to be entertained, 20. 
Phips, Sir William, Governor, 148. 
Pittamey, Andrew, 60. 
Plans of towns, 6. 
Plymouth, settlement at, 2. 
Pompant, 53. 
Ponkapog Indians, 115. 
Poor, support of, 133, 134; silent, 143. 
Pork, sale of, regulated, 104. 
Potter, Judah, 146. 

Luke, 28, 71, 73; deacon, 26; his house-lot, 73, 86. 

Samuel, killed by Indians, 105. 
Potter's Bridge, 79. 

Lane, 86. 
Pound, town, 93, 94. 
Power, Mary, 144. 
Pratt, Thomas, 82. 
Prescott, Jonathan, 79; his dwelling-place, 98; lieutenant, 147; 

chirurgeon, 30; grant of land to, 98. 
Prout, Ebenezer, builds mill, 95; clerk, 128, 146, 147, 151; takes poor 
child as apprentice, 132; signs order for removal of Andros to 
the Castle, 151. 

Timothy, 82. 
Prout's Farm, 82. 

Folly, 95. 
Public Houses, 138-140. 



QUABAUG, 108. 

Quarters, division of town into, 68; limits of, 71-74; South or West, 
70; its limits, 71, 72; division of wood in, 72; East, its limits, 
71, 72; ISTorth, its limits, 71; assignment to them of highways 
and bridges, 74, 75; to hold town harmless from damage for de- 
fective ways, &c., 75: overseers of, 75, 76; records of, 84. 



RaINER, Samuel, 29. 

Rates, minister, 19, 25, 64; public, how payable, 37, 40; for highways, 

75, 76. 
Read, Dr. Philip, 27; prosecution of, 30-32. 
Rice, Peter, 144. 



168 INDEX. 



Rice, Richard, 31, 71; his testimony, 13, 17; his dwelling-place, 71, 73, 
85, 87. 
Timothy, 124, 146. 
Richardson, James, 110. 
Ripley, Dr. Ezra, quoted, 43. 
River, how crossed, 78. 
Robinson, Rev. John, 2. 
" Rocks, The," way to, 81. 
Rocky Hill, 72. 
Rogers, John, 29. 
Roper, Ephraim, 82. 
Ross, Daniel, 134. 

Russell, James, owns Iron Works, 136. 
Rutter, Jabesh, 112. 



Sampson, ho. j 

Saw-mills, 22, 95. j 

Schools and school-houses, 128-133. ] 

School-master, want of, 129. i 

School-house lot, 131. , 

Scotchford, John, 73; his house-lot, 88. i 

Lane, 128. | 

Scotland, 81. 

Scudder, H. E., quoted, 27. 

Selectmen, instructions to, 19, 20; their powers and duties, 20; to 
impose fines, 76; to superintend erection of fortifications, 123; \ 

their return of non-freemen, 146. ' 

Settlers, early, character of, 2, 46-48; their former homes, 3; journey I 
to Musketaquid, 3, 4; hardships suffered, 33-41; their educa- 
tional attainments, 132. j 

Sewall, Samuel, 150. 

Shamberry, Joseph, 60, 61. 

Shattuck, Lemuel, his History, 7; his papers, 6, 28, 43. 

Shawshine, grant to, 51; River, 8, 9; Corner, 10, 68, 81; road \ 

to, 137. j 

Sheep, &c., damage by, 19. ; 

Shepard, Abraham, 106, 107. { 

Isaac, killed by Indians, 105-107, 112; his estate, 107. i 

Jacob, 106, 107. j 

John, 53, 146. • 

Mary, captured by Indians, 106, 107, 112, 116. ' j 
Ralph, buys Nashoba Farm, 55. 

Short Swamp, 73. ^ 

Skinner, Thomas, 82. ■ 



INDEX. 169 



Smedly, Baptist, his dwelling-place, 88 ; his daughter, 107 ; his death 
and estate, 112. 

James, 144, 146 ; his house-lot, 87. 

John, 26, 40, 64, 144; on committee to divide highways, &c., 70; 
overseer, 76; his house-lot, 88; on committee to build meeting- 
house, 91; released from training, 121 ; his report about schools, 
129. 

Samuel, killed by Indians, 112; his estate, ib. 
Soldiers, impressment of, 124. (See Military.) 
Solomon Thomas, 59, 60. 
South Field, 67. 

River, 73; bridge over, 69, 74; road to, 88. 
Speen, John and Sarah, 57, 58. 

James and Elizabeth, 57, 58. 
Spelling, irregular habits of, 132. 
Spencer, William, 14, 15; his land in Concord, 15. 
Spencer Brook, 15, 86, 95. 
Squaw Sachem, 13-16. 
Squaws, escape of, 118. 
Stannup, Hannah, 144. 
Stockadoes, line of, ordered, 114. 
Stocks, 117. 

Stoughton, Gov. William, 90. 
Stow, Nathaniel, 146 ; his house-lot, 86. 

Thomas, 70; his second division, 82. 
Stow, town of, 57, 59. 
Subsidy-men, departure of, forbidden, 2. 

Sudbury, 50, 57, 113; line of, 10; ways, 75, 79; meeting-house, 98; 
petition about meadows, 34 ; removal from, forbidden, 40 ; fight 
at, with Indians, 85, 105. 
Swamp Bridge, 79. 
Swanscombe, 47, 48. 
Swine, damage by, 19; how herded, 103: how marked and sold, 104. 

TaHATOW^AN, 13-16. 

John, 53. 
Tally, Thomas, banished, 142- 
Tar-kiln Brook, 137. 
Tasattawan, 59. 
Tasunsquaw, 58, 60. 
Taylor, Abraham, 9, 147. 

John, 124. 

William, his house-lot, 87. 
Taxes. (See Rates.) 



170 INDEX. 



Temple, Abraham, 105, 124, 146. 

Isaac, 146. 

Richard, 15, 146 ; his dwelling-place, 85 ; builds saw-mill, 95. 
Thomas, John, 53, 58, 60. 

Solomon, 59, 60. 
Titles, significance of, 27. 
Tompkins, John, 35. 
Townsmen, 19, 69. (See Selectmen.) 

Town, officers of, 19; clerk, 21; bell, 92; house, 93; cow, 26, 133, 134; 
pound, 93; watch-house, 117; mill, 94-97; meadow, 67, 68, 72; 
record books, 84; meetings, 92; library, 128. 
Training-field, 92. 
Training-place, 71, 75. 
Transcripts of lands, 84. 
Troop of horse, 108, 122. 
Turney, Benjamin, 35. 
Twenty score, 83. 



U SHER, Herman and Hezekiah, engage in mining operations at 
Fairhaven, 137. 



Vane, Gov. Henry, 23. 
Virginia, 81. 



WaBAN, 14, 15, 58. 

Thomas, 59, 60. 
Wabatut, 53. 

Walden Pond, 12, 72, 79, 80. 
Walling, H. F., his maps of county and town, 7. 
Wamesit, 57. 
Wappacowet, 15. 
Waste water. The, 92. 
Watch-house, situation of, 117. 
Watertown, 3, 50, 114; controversy with, about bounds, 12; bounds 

of, 32; road, 79, 80; corner, 81; company, 105. 
Wayland, line of, 10. 
Ways, private, 81. (See Highways.) 
Webb, Cowet, 16. 
Weston, bounds of, 32. 
Wheat, John, 125. 

Moses, 29 ; his house-lot, 86. 

Samuel, 147. 



INDEX. 171 



Wheeler, Ephraim, 35, 38. 

Ensign, 70, 71, 73. 

George, 28, 40, 52, 66, 73, 78; selectman, 139; on committee to 
divide highways, &c., 70; overseer, 76; his house-lot, 87; joint- 
owner with Capt. Timothy, 89; sells land to Prescott, 98. 

John, 124, 146, 147; constable, 63; his house-lot, 87 ; sergeant, 99.] 

Joseph, 28, 40, 52, 53, 90, 124; grant to, 55; his house-lot, 87; on 
committee to build meeting-house, 91. 

Joshua, 79, 146; his house-lot, 87. 

Josiah, killed by Indians, 105. 

Obadiah, 73, 146; his dwelling-place, 75, 85. 

Samuel, Jr., 58. 

Sergeant, 68. 

Thomas, Senior, his house-lot, 86. 

Thomas, 20, 28, 35; selectman, 146, 152; petitioner, 38, 49; Junior, 
38, 110, 113. 

Capt. Thomas, 125; takes lease from town, 19, 55, 56, 103; com- 
mands troop, 122; his "Narrative," 108; accompanies Capt. 
Hutchinson, 108-113; his certificate to the Indians, 110; his 
return celebrated, 113. 

Timothy, 147; petitioner, 38, 40, 52, 78; overseer, 76. 

Capt. Timothy, 26; his house, 14; his estate, 89; negotiates with 
Indians, 57, 59; on committee to build meeting-house, 91; keeps 
mill, 95; authorized to impress gunsmith, 114; captain of foot 
company, 122, 125; his return of soldiers impressed, 124, 125; 
his gift to the town, 129, 131. 

Rebecca, 90. 

AVilliam, 6, 73. 
Wiggin, John and Mary, 90. 
Wigly, Edmund, his dwelling-place, 85. 

Willard, Simon, 28, 73; founder of Concord, 1; his English home, 3; 
trades with Indians, ib., 17; lays out the township, 5, 12, 17; 
commands foot company, 120, 122 ; conducts negotiations with 
Indians about lands, 14, 15, 61; on valuing committee, 37; 
excused from attendance on court, 41; his removal to Lan- 
caster, {&. ; commissioner, 45; his character and services, 43, 44; 
his farms, 51, 59, 65, 66, 136; assists Indians, 101, 115; on 
highway committee, 70; on committee to settle mill dispute, 
97; relieves Wheeler at Brookfield, 112. 
Winnetow, Dorothy, 57, 58. 
Winnippin, 62. 

Winthrop, Gov. John, 23; his farm, 61. 
Woburn Corner, 10. 

Road, 80. 
Wompachowet, 14. 



172 INDEX. 



Wood, Abraham, 146. j 

Ephraim, surveys town, 7. ' 

John, 124, 146. ' 

Michael, 71, 74; his dwelling-place, 85; clerk of the Iron Works, I 

140. ] 
William, 3, 37, 40, 73. 

AVoodis, Henry, 14, 26, 57, 59, 64, 70, 78, 122; his second division, 82; ; 

his dwelling-place, 85. • I 

Woodis's Rock, 83. ' i 

Woolley, Christopher, 89; his dwelling-place, 87. \ 

Joseph, 60. ; 

Thomas, 125. I 

Wormwood, Joseph, 136. 

Wright, Edward, 89, 143 ; his house-lot, 86 ; exchanges land with Hoar, 
89; of Castle Browmick, 90; builds saw-mill, 95. 

Francis, 90. ' 

Peter, his marriage contract, 143 ; his gift to the town, ib. j 
Samuel, 136, 143. 



Young, Henry, killed by Indians, 113. 




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